PRESIDENT DEMETRIS Christofias yesterday confirmed he has sent letters to heads of the UN and EU, denouncing Turkey’s “arrogance and cynicism” towards the Cyprus Republic.
Speaking at the presidential palace, Christofias said: “I want to confirm that I have sent such letters to the UN Secretary-General, to the Presidents of the European Council, Commission and Parliament.”
Newspapers yesterday reported that Christofias denounced recent comments by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu at a NATO summit in Berlin where he point black refused to let Cyprus sit at a NATO-EU meeting. The president reportedly also referred to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s election manifesto pledge to continue to promote the standing of the breakaway state on the international scene.
“I will not divulge the content of the letters, let the addressees receive the letters and if deemed necessary, the content can be made public.
“In any case, the letters refer to what I have been saying publicly, regarding the arrogance and cynicism with which Turkey’s foreign minister and other Turkish officials behave towards Cyprus,” said Christofias.
During the Easter ceremony before presidential palace staff, Christofias said the Turkish side was displaying “record arrogance and arbitrariness”, noting that, “while our side is continuously trying to submit constructive and bridging proposals at the talks, the other side, due to the attention it is given by various sides, unfairly in my view, is appearing tough and at times revises agreed positions”.
“Turkey appears the peacemaker for other areas in the region, but within Turkey, continues to impose restrictions on non-Turkish politicians,” he said, adding that towards Cyprus, Turkey “continues to cynically behave like a conqueror”.
He also argued that the Turkish occupation force was not respecting Turkish Cypriots identity and was treating them as second class citizens.
“Our message to Turkish Cypriots, which is a message to Greek Cypriots too, is that they are Cypriots and we must respect our Turkish Cypriot compatriots as equal citizens of the Cyprus Republic. This must be embedded in our consciousness and we must send this message every day.”
Failure to extend a hand to the Turkish Cypriots as co-owners of this country will mean they will continue to be pushed into the arms of Turkey, he said.
“That was the protracted mistake which we must correct. We must send them the right messages, and I’m sure they will respond,” said the president.
Meanwhile, Davutoglu was quoted by Hurriyet Daily News on Wednesday saying that Turkey was faced with “unnecessary political obstacles” and “one-sided blockages” such as the Cyprus issue in its EU process.
He warned that Turkey’s EU bid was at risk of grinding to a halt amid rows with Cyprus and strong objections to its membership by Germany and France.
