Prime Minister Özgürgün: “The Greek Cypriot side has made clear that they do not want to reach a settlement”

Prime Minister Özgürgün stated that the Greek Cypriot side has made clear that they do not want to reach a settlement, in the light of the decision to commemorate the Enosis Plebiscite and their continued unilateral natural gas exploration activities.

Stating that at this point the Turkish Cypriot side should therefore take a decision to use its rights for self-determination, Özgürgün added that this has been bought up even in the UK parliament.

Speaking to the Turkish News Agency (TAK) and BRT, Özgürgün said that the negotiations should resume from where they left off, from the Geneva summit.

Noting that it is not possible to return to the negotiation table unless the Enosis decision is overturned, Özgürgün emphasised that the decision taken by the Greek Cypriot Parliament last week is not enough.

Enosis means to destroy the Turkish Cypriots and British people and annex the island to Greece, and Özgürgün emphasized that the decision showed that “the mentality has not changed”.

Regarding the unilateral natural gas exploration of the Greek Cypriot side, Özgürgün said: “This is not their sovereign right. It is sovereignty that they usurp and do not want to share with the Turkish Cypriots. These actions fundamentally deny the rights of the Turkish Cypriots, as all the riches and natural resources around and within this island belong equally to both communities in Cyprus”.

Özgürgün continued, “The stance of the Greek Cypriots on both these issues come to mean “I do not want to share anything, I do not want to give any rights, if you want the right of minority, I can give it to certain conditions and my ultimate goal is to annex the island to Greece” and added that this should be understood very well by the Turkish Cypriot side.