Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos said here Friday if Turkey believes that its occupation of the island’s northern third is legal, then it can appeal to the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
On Thursday, the Cypriot government issued a statement in reply to the reactions of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Turkish Cypriot leadership to remarks by President Papadopoulos, who said in a televised press conference on Tuesday that the Turkish army was an enemy of Cyprus.
In statements before departing to London, on his way to New York to address the UN General Assembly, the President said yesterday’s statement was made in response to the representative of the Turkish Armed Forces and the Turkish Cypriot side that the occupation forces are legally in Cyprus, based on the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee.
“Our view is well known, the presence of the Turkish occupation forces and the Turkish invasion, cannot be legally based on the Treaty of Guarantee, and their presence in Cyprus, is, in any case, illegal. We said that if Turkey believes otherwise, then it can appeal or agree to appeal to the International Court of Justice in The Hagueâ€, the President remarked.
However, he said it is also well know that Turkey does not recognize the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice, therefore to make an appeal, an agreement should be made to note down the differences between the two countries and the whole issue to be referred to The Hague. Consequently, we cannot proceed with an appeal before this agreement is reached, the President added.
President Papadopoulos also said that during his meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader earlier this month, it was evident that Mehmet Ali Talat was trying to evade from the 8 July Agreement.
“We believe that the July 8 Agreement, just as it was set out to be implemented based on the ideas of former Under-Secretary-General Gambari’s letter of 15 November 2006, contained many positive elements for usâ€, Papadopoulos remarked.
He said the most important of these positive elements is “that the overall settlement of the Cyprus problem should come from the discussions of the working groups. And in our view, since then, Turkey has been trying to deviate from this agreement, and this was Mr. Talat’s apparent effort during our recent meetingâ€.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third.
President Papadopoulos and Talat agreed on 8 July 2006, during a meeting in Nicosia in the presence of Gambari, to begin a process of bicommunal discussions on issues that affect the day-to-day life of the people and concurrently those that concern substantive issues, both contributing to a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem.
In New York, President Papadopoulos will meet UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. He will also hold meetings with the Permanent Members of the UN Security Council and other leaders.
Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou Markoullis will also travel to New York for meetings with her counterparts.
