‘Greek Cypriots diverting attention from arms build-up’

THE Greek Cypriots are trying to divert world attention from their arms build-up, according to the regime in the north.

Turkish press reports yesterday ‘TRNC Prime Minister’ Dervis Eroglu as saying said Cyprus and Greece were attempting to incite anti-Turkish sentiment in world public opinion, with the aim of diverting attention away from their military expansion.

Eroglu said the harsh Greek reaction over the co-operation protocol between the Denktash regime and Turkey was “due to the realisation that the Turkish Cypriots are not alone and without alternatives”.

The agreement signed last Tuesday provides that Turkish Cypriots can participate in international meetings as part of Turkish delegations.

Eroglu said the Greek side should end its “tensions policy” because past experience “shows who would be hurt in a climate of tension”.

He was referring to the announcement by President Glafcos Clerides last week that the government would take delivery of the Paphos air base by January 24.

Eroglu said this showed the Greek Cypriots had no intention of making efforts towards reconciliation.

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.