The Cyprus government has stressed the need for approaches which are based on the implementation of international law and the law of the sea, responding to Turkey’s proposal, which has been reiterated by the country’s Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan, for an agreement in Cyprus on the energy resources in the Eastern Mediterranean, following the example of the agreement reached between Israel and Lebanon, without the two sides waiting for the political settlement of the Cyprus problem. Invited by the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) to comment on Fidan’s statement, the Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson, Theodoros Gotsis, said that that “this is not the first time that we have heard this approach by the Turkish side,” adding that “Nicosia has not received any official proposal on this.” He recalled that Nicosia was the first to propose a dialogue with Turkey on the basis of international law and the law of the sea with a view to delimitate that Exclusive Economic Zones between the two countries. Gotsis added that if the proposal put forward has the same parameters as the positions expressed in the past by Turkey, meaning that it is possible to discuss Cyprus’ sovereign rights with the Turkish Cypriot side with a view to take a common decision “then this is something we have already rejected.” “Such an approach would undermine the Republic of Cyprus’ sovereign rights, and would at the same time be unproductive as regards the sustained efforts made by the President of the Republic to solve the Cyprus issue,” he underlined. Moreover he noted that there may not be diplomatic relations between Israel and Lebanon, however each country does not question the other’s existence as a state. In our case, however, he said on one hand there is a pseudostate while on the other hand Turkey continues denying to recognise the Republic of Cyprus, and to implement its obligations vis-a-vis Cyprus, on the basis of the negotiating framework, which it has undertaken as a country that is candidate for EU membership. In any case, Gotsis concluded, one would expect to hear more concrete parameters, if Turkey really wants dialogue with a view to examine mutually acceptable solutions, on the basis of international law. Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
Source: Cyprus News Agency