Bagis comments ‘insulting’ to Greek and Turkish Cypriots

COMMENTS by Turkey’s European Affairs Minister Egemen Bagis that Ankara would consider annexing the north if peace talks failed, were “cynical, arrogant and provocative”, government s spokesman Stefanos Stefanou said yesterday.

“They are also insulting for the Turkish Cypriot community,” said Stefanou. “These statements reveal that Turkey’s negative stance on the Cyprus problem promotes the goal of partition and creating two separate states in Cyprus.”

He added that Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu hds made similar comments recently. 

Stefanou argued partition and annexation go against UN resolutions and called on the international community to put pressure on Turkey to respect UN resolutions on Cyprus. 

“For the Greek Cypriot side, there is only one option on the negotiating table for a solution of the Cyprus problem, that of a bicommunal, bizonal federation with political equality as defined in the relevant UN resolutions,” he said.   

Bagis told Turkish Cypriot newspaper Kibris at the weekend that Turkey would support any agreement reached by the two sides, but said that was only one of several possible outcomes.

“Reunification under a deal that (the two) leaders could reach, creation of two independent states after an agreement between the two leaders if they are unable to reach a deal for reunification, or annexation of the KKTC (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) to Turkey,” Bagis said.

“These are all the options on the table.”

Many Turkish Cypriots oppose the notion of annexation. Turkey’s NTV news channel quoted Ozkan Yorganciogly, leader of the main opposition Republican Turks Party (CTP), as saying the idea was unacceptable.

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.