House resolution on Turkey

By a unanimous vote, the House on Thursday adopted a resolution calling on the European Union to de-link the refugee crisis from the issue of Turkey’s EU accession.

The resolution calls also on the Cypriot government to resist any pressure brought to bear on it so that it would consent to the opening of new accession chapters for Turkey, unless Ankara meets its obligations stemming from the 2005 EU-Turkey negotiating framework.

Under the framework, Ankara must normalise its relations with the Republic of Cyprus, open its ports and airports to Cyprus, contribute in an active manner to the solution of the Cyprus issue, and stop blocking Cyprus’ accession to international fora.

Turkey has yet to comply with those terms.

In its resolution, the House urges the international community to combat any form of en masse rejection of migrants and refugees.

It further calls on the Cypriot government to contribute to efforts at reaching a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Syria.

 

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.