Defence minister hoped Turkey will show good will for resumption Cyprus talks

Defence Minister Charalambos Petrides expressed hope on Sunday that Turkey would display the necessary good, allowing the resumption of UN-led talks for a settlement of the Cyprus problem.

“A solution to the Cyprus problem in line with the EU acquis and international law, without anachronistic guarantees and the presence of the Turkish army, a solution safeguarding human rights which creates the conditions for lasting stability remains the President’s main aim,” Petrides said in a memorial service for those who lost their lives in Mandres, a village in Famagusta, during the 1974 Turkish invasion.

He said however that “Turkey with is unacceptable and aggressive stance in Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone causes even greater problems in the efforts to resume the negotiating process.”

Petrides added that constant threats to open the fenced-off city of Famagusta would represent a substantive obstacle for the solution of the Cyprus problem, as well as for Ankara’s EU accession course.

“All of the above show the lack of any good intention on behalf of Turkey to cooperate for reaching a solution,” he added.

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.