Britain ‘could have avoided’ statement

 

THE BRITISH statement regarding Turkey’s accession course could have been avoided although it does not justify all the noise over the issue, President Demetris Christofias said yesterday.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Britain said it supported the Commission’s Enlargement Strategy conclusion that bilateral issues should not hold up the accession process.

“As that conclusion sets out, Bilateral disputes need to be resolved by the parties concerned, who have the responsibility to find solutions in a spirit of good neighbourliness, bearing in mind the overall EU interests,” the statement said.

It followed a unilateral statement by Cyprus during the General Affairs Council earlier this month that it could block the opening of discussions on six more policy areas in Turkey’s accession course unless the neighbouring country met certain conditions.

Turkey has so far refused to meet its EU obligations of opening its ports and airports to Cypriot traffic.

The EU froze eight chapters in 2006 to punish Turkey for repeated failure to comply with its obligations.

Christofias said Britain has played a “not so positive role” in the Cyprus issue adding that “this announcement or statement by Britain outside EU bodies could have been avoided”.

Christofias’ government partner, EDEK leader, Yiannakis Omirou was not so diplomatic describing the statement as “openly anti-Cypriot behaviour.”

“This country (Britain) which tolerated, if they did not partake in the Turkish invasion and the declaration of the breakaway state, is again stabbing us on the back,” Omirou said.

In a written statement the Green party said Britain had lost every trace of reliability and objectivity with its open and provocatively unilateral support towards Turkey.

“Of course they tried with the well know English diplomacy to convince us that the statement does not especially regard Cyprus but is British policy in general,” the Greens said.

The European Party joined the chorus of criticism saying the statement was “a monument of impudence towards European principles and values and the decisions of EU bodies.”

 

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.