EPP calls on Turkey to withdraw troops from Cyprus

The European People’s Party has called on Turkey to withdraw its troops from Cyprus and allow the leaders of the island’s two communities to negotiate freely their country’s future.

In the conclusions of the party congress, in Warsaw, the EPP “stresses the need for a comprehensive settlement in the Cyprus question, based on UN Security Council resolutions and on the principles on which the European Union is founded.”

“It welcomes the renewed commitment of political leaders on both sides to a negotiated solution and supports the ongoing direct negotiations between the leaders of the two communities in Cyprus and will accept any arrangement reached by them provided that it is in conformity with the principles on which the EU is founded, including the four fundamental freedoms and that it is accepted in a referendum,” it adds.

The EPP “calls on Turkey to facilitate a suitable climate for the negotiations by withdrawing Turkish forces and allowing the two leaders to negotiate freely their country’s future.”

The EPP congress decided unanimous to support Jose Manuel Barosso for President of the European Commission.

President of Democratic Rally (DISI), Nicos Anastasiades, member of the EPP, has welcomed the conclusions, noting DISI contribution to this.

The Cyprus issue is considered a European problem and not a problem of international relations of Europe, he said.

Cyprus President Demetris Christofias and the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community Mehmet Ali Talat have been engaged in talks since Septermber last year to find a negotiated settlement that will reunite the country, divided since Turkish troops invaded and occupied the island's northern areas.