The ongoing Turkish occupation of part of Cyprus and the continuous efforts by Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot leadership to upgrade the secessionist entity, illegally declared in 1983, remain the most serious obstacles to efforts towards a solution and the reunification of the country, Cypriot Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said here Wednesday.
The Cypriot MFA issued a statement to mark the 24th anniversary since the illegal declaration of the secessionist entity in the occupied areas of the Republic of Cyprus by Turkey.
Recalling that the international community, through the UN Security Council resolutions 541(1983) and 550(1984) condemned Turkey’s unilateral act as legally invalid and called for its immediate withdrawal, the Cypriot MFA noted that ”despite the persistent efforts by Ankara and its subordinate local administration in the occupied areas, no country, other than the occupying power, recognizes this illegal entity, in full compliance with the binding resolutions of the Security Council.”
”The ongoing Turkish occupation since 1974 and the continuous efforts by Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot leadership to upgrade the secessionist entity, in violation of the will of the international community, remain the most serious obstacles to the efforts for finding a solution to the problem and for the reunification of Cyprus”, the MFA added.
According to the MFA, ”it has become apparent and it can be confirmed through the statements of Turkish officials as well as statements made by the President of Turkey himself, that the aim of the Turkish side is the creation of two separate states in Cyprus and not reunification.”
”This objective guides the Turkish approach vis-a-vis the July 8 Agreement. While initially the Turkish side committed itself to implementing the Agreement, it is now diligently trying to undermine and erode it”, the MFA noted.
”The Cyprus government remains committed to a solution compatible with the principles of international law, the UN Security Council resolutions, the High-Level Agreements, the European acquis and the principles upon which the European Union is based,” the statement said.
The solution in Cyprus, it concluded, should be based on ”a state of Cyprus with a single sovereignty and international personality and a single citizenship, with its independence and territorial integrity safeguarded, and comprising two politically equal communities as described in the relevant Security Council resolutions, in a bi-communal and bi-zonal federation.”
