‘Cyprus and Greece agree Turkey should leave EEZ’

Nicosia and Athens have agreed that Turkish actions in the island’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) should stop immediately in order for the resumption of Cyprus talks to become feasible.
The issue was discussed on Monday during a telephone conversation between Acting President Yiannakis Omirou and Greek Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos.
In a written statement Government Spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said that during the conversation Omirou was briefed by Venizelos on the results of the Turkey-Greece High-Level Cooperation Council which took place on Saturday in Athens.
He was also briefed of the results of Venizelos` recent visit to Turkey, Christodoulides adds.
Christodoulides said that during their conversation Omirou underlined Nicosia’s firm position that the Turkish be terminated immediately and that Turkey demonstrated, in practice, respect for the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus, so that the resumption of the talks for the Cyprus problem could become feasible.
In a statement, Venizelos also referred to the telephone conversation. “The recognition of the state, national sovereignty and sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus always remain at the core of the matter,” he said.
“Therefore ending the violation of Cyprus` EEZ by the Turkish vessel Barbaros constitutes a priority so that the resumption of intercommunal talks can become feasible,” Venizelos said.
On Saturday speaking at a joint news conference with his Greek counterpart Antonis Samaras, Turkish Prime Minister counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu, said Turkey had the will to resume talks and reach a settlement of the Cyprus problem “very soon”.
“Turkey’s will is to resume peace talks as soon as possible so that a settlement of the Cyprus problem can coincide with a settlement of the energy issues,” said Davutoglu.
According to Turkish media reports, on his way back to Turkey Davutoglu gave reporters his evaluation of the two-day visit to Greece, saying the two guarantor countries had agreed to develop a joint formula to revive the stalled peace talks focused on sharing the island’s natural resources.
“Of course, these are not issues to be finalised in one setting, but there is a common will on both sides to progress the talks toward a positive agenda,” Davutoglu added.
He said if there was a delay in reunifying the island, a joint commission could be established by Turkey and Greece to oversee research on offshore drilling. “Both sides realised that it is not possible to drill and manage the resources by only one side. Now, an opportunity for negotiation over how to conduct these studies has presented itself and Turkey and Greece have the will to cooperate,” Davutoglu said.
“Let’s solve this issue, in order to exploit our energy resources and connect possible natural gas resources with Greece through Turkey.”

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.