Turkish FM: Turkish Cypriots, not Turkey that opened Varosha

It is not Turkey that opened the Varosha beachfront, but the Turkish Cypriots, a Turkish foreign ministry statement said on Sunday.

It is a “ridiculous characterisation by the Greece-Greek Cypriot twins that this step is a violation of UN security council resolutions”, it said.

“The claim that it threatens the international security of people entering the sea from here is far from serious and is ridiculous,” it added.

In a statement largely aimed at comments made in Greece, the foreign minister said Greece’s attempts to use the EU as a lever to solve the problems of the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean will not bring results.

“Our country will continue to protect our rights and those of the Turkish Cypriots in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean with determination,” the statement 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.