Turkey vetoes Cyprus from disarmament conference

Turkey blocked Cyprus’ request on Tuesday to join the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva as an observer, reports said.

Cyprus was one of many countries hoping to serve as observers at the 65-member organisation in Geneva.

Turkey’s representative said that in the past they have simply voiced displeasure in a letter at the end of each session but fell short of outright blocking Cyprus’ participation.

“Turkey will not support this particular request this year,” Ankara’s representative said when Cyprus made its request.

Both the EU and the US disagreed with Turkey’s rejection of Cyprus.

“It is unfortunate that Turkey has decided to block Cyprus from participating in the works of the conference,” said the US ambassador to the conference, Robert Wood. He urged “Turkey to reconsider its objection.”

The Conference on Disarmament was first established in 1979 to negotiate arms controls and disarmament agreements. It meets every year on three separate occasions in Switzerland.

 

 

 

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