Venizelos: Turkey must respect Cyprus’ rights

TURKEY must respect the rights of the Republic of Cyprus for reunification talks to restart, Greek Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos said on Saturday.
The Greek diplomat was speaking after a meeting with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu.
Venizelos said the talks were interrupted because the Republic’s sovereign rights were under attack by Turkey, which sent a research vessel to carry out hydrocarbon exploration in the island’s exclusive economic zone.
Turkey opposes Cyprus’ venture, claiming it is protecting the rights of Turkish Cypriots.
“It is our desire to find a solution for the people of both sides to protect their rights,” Cavusoglu said.
The Turkish minister said drilling work in the eastern Mediterranean did not have good intentions adding that “it is our desire to find a solution for the people of both sides to protect their rights.”
Venizelos said talks could not resume until Turkey showed respect for Cyprus’ rights and withdrew its vessels, including warships, from the EEZ.

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.