‘Cyprus problem is a banana skin for EU’

THE TURKISH leadership is continuing its prickly commentary on Cyprus with EU Affairs Minister Egemen Bagis reportedly comparing the Cyprus problem to slippery “banana skin”.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan dropped the first bombshell during his visit to the occupied areas this week when he claimed Greek Cypriots would never get Morphou back, while Varosha was also not on the cards. He also said Turkey-EU relations would freeze when Cyprus takes over the EU Presidency in July 2012.

His comments mobilised the Greek Cypriot leadership to issue a rare joint statement of condemnation. A senior German conservative called on the EU to cut off accession negotiations with Turkey while MEP Andrew Duff accused of setting a “false trail” for a deadline to peace talks.

The Greek Cypriot leadership have now been given another opportunity for consensus following Bagis’ latest musings on bananas, widely reported in the Turkish Cypriot press yesterday.

According to daily Kibris, during a meeting with banana exporters in Turkey, Bagis likened Cyprus’ turn at the helm of the EU Presidency to banana skin.

“The Cyprus issue is like a banana skin in front of the EU. The day the Greek Cypriot administration is going to take over the EU Presidency is the date which the EU shall step on that banana skin. We are warning them and telling that there is a banana skin there, don’t step on it.”

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.