The Turkish occupying army’s denial to withdraw its forces from the area and the Turkish Cypriot leadership’s inability to impose such a withdrawal is the main but not the only impediment to the opening of a crossing point at
Papadopoulos’ remarks came one day after Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat met EU enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn, who, according to his spokesman, welcomed the occupying regime decision to remove a footbridge it erected illegally on
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”The main but not the only issue obstructing (the opening of the crossing point on Ledras) is the denial of the Turkish-occupying army to withdraw its forces from the area and the Turkish Cypriot leadership’s inability to impose such a withdrawal, whether it desires it or not,” Papadopoulos said speaking to the press.
The Cypriot President also pointed out that ”a measure described as establishing confidence, good relations and good will cannot lead to a source of friction, because I do not believe that the Greek Cypriots will be thrilled to cross and see Turkish occupying forces.”
Furthermore, responding to press reports about yesterday’s Rehn – Talat meeting, Government Spokesman Christodoulos Pashiardis said that ”Without demilitarization of the area, without the withdrawal of the Turkish occupying army for that particular crossing point and with the creation of conditions of safe passage in the vicinity by UNFICYP, the withdrawal of the well-known illegal bridge lacks substantive meaning and does not serve the desired aim.”
”The removal of the bridge was a mere gesture aimed at creating impressions, without content and which does not facilitate the implementation of our proposal for the opening of a crossing point on Ledras Street,” he added.
Concluding, the Cypriot Spokesman reiterated that if the conditions set by the Cypriot government are met, ”our side is ready to knock down within 24 hours the wall in front of the National Guard post.”
Currently there are five crossing points between the southern government-controlled areas of the Republic, where the legal government exercises its jurisdiction, and the northern Turkish- occupied north of the island where the government is prevented from exercising its jurisdiction because of the massive presence of the Turkish occupation troops.
