Turkey’s EU Minister Volkan Vozkır said on Wednesday that the European leaders must not allow Greek Cyprus to ruin a probable agreement between Turkey and EU for dealing with the refugee crisis.
Vozkır’s statement came a day after Greek Cypriot president Nicos Anastasiades’ remarks over Turkey’s EU accession process. Anastasiades said on Tuesday that they would block Turkey’s EU accession if Ankara does not recognize their administration.
“It is out of the question for Turkey to recognize the southern part [Greek Cyprus] of the island,” he said during a live broadcast on Turkish NTV.
Vokır said that Turkey had always opposed the idea of including Cyprus negotiations as a part of its EU membership talks.
“Turkey has always promoted finding a solution to the conflict on the island,” he added.
Turkish minister stated that thanks to Turkey’s determined stance on the issue in the past decade, the parties can now talk about finding a solution to the Cyprus issue.
Vozkır said Ankara’s position on the issue is clear. “Turkey will not recognize the southern part of the island.” He added that it is Europe’s responsibility to convince the Greek Cypriot administration to resolve the problem.
“If the Europe fails to convince Greek Cypriot administration over the issue, it will result in the collapse of the refugee deal between Turkey and the EU,” he underlined.
Yeni Safak