Anastasiades briefs Tusk on Turkey’s actions on enclaved

President of the European Council Donald Tusk on Friday said he has heard the concerns put by President Nicos Anastasiades over Turkey’s actions regarding enclaved Greek Cypriots and Maronites.

Speaking during the final press briefing in Brussels after the EU Summit, Turk said he had been briefed by Anastasiades on ‘Turkey’s actions vis-a-vis the Greek Cypriots and Maronites’.

President Tusk had previously conveyed the EU’s 28th consensus that Turkey must respect in its relations with the EU, all of the EU Member States.

“We want to keep the door open to Ankara, but the current reality in Turkey makes it difficult”, he said. “It was also stressed that Turkey needs to respect all Member States in its relation with the EU, including when it comes to the implementation of the existing customs’ union”, he added.

Meanwhile, Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci met with the vice chairs of the European Conservatives and reformist group, German MEP Hans-Olaf Henkel and British MEP Geoffrey Van Orden, to brief them on the status of the Cyprus problem after Crans-Montana and what could happen from this point forward.

According to Turkish Cypriot press, quoted by the Cyprus News Agency, they also discussed how the European Conservatives could contribute to broadening relations between Turkish Cypriots and the EU.

Henkel and Ordel also met with with ‘foreign minister’ of the north Tahsin Ertugruloglu to discuss the Cyprus problem. Meanwhile, three Turkish Cyprios ‘MPs’ in Brussels sent a letter to all MEPs briefing them on their views on the matter.

They were Hasan Tacoy, of the National Unity party, Armagan Candan of the Republican Turkish party and Zeki Celer of the Communal Democracy party, who were invited to a round table discussion on the Cyprus problem organized by the socialists and democrats.

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