Cyprus government has protested Turkish President`s illegal visit to the island’s occupied areas starting Monday and has made representations to the international fora, Spokesperson Marios Pelekanos has said. He also said that representations have been made as regards the incident with the Turkish vessel last Friday.
Erdogan is arriving to the Turkish-occupied areas on Monday for an illegal visit and has already said that he will be making announcements as regards the status of the fenced off town of Varosha, Famagusta region.
Speaking to the press Sunday, after a memorial service at Pelentri, Pelekanos said that Turkey`s aggressive stance as well as the stance of the Turkish Cypriot side has been demonstrated in various manners lately, and not only via Erdogan`s visit, adding that the government has made representations to the EU and the UN.
He also said that representations have been made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other authorities as regards the incident with the Turkish vessel that opened fire against a Port police coastguard which was conducting a routine patrol in the Kato Pyrgos Tylliria coast. According to the Spokesman, the incident is under investigation by the UN.
Speaking earlier during the memorial service of Antonis Antoniou, who died during the 1974 Turkish invasion, Pelekanos said that President Anastasiades is ready to enter into a dialogue to resolve the Cyprus issue, away from threats and provocations and on the basis of international law.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded and still occupies 37% of the island`s territory.
Numerous UN backed talks to reunite the island have failed to yield results. A 5+1 Informal Meeting that took place in Geneva, on April 27-29, failed to find enough common ground to allow for the resumption of formal negotiations in relation to the settlement of the Cyprus problem.
UN Secretary – General, Antonio Guterres, has said that he will convene in the near future another meeting of the 5+1, the five plus the United Nations, again with the objective to move in the direction of reaching common ground to allow for formal negotiations to start.
Varosha, the fenced off section of the Turkish occupied town of Famagusta, is often described as a ‘ghost town’.
UN Security Council resolution 550 (1984) considers any attempts to settle any part of Varosha by people other than its inhabitants as inadmissible and calls for the transfer of this area to the administration of the UN. UN Security Council resolution 789 (1992) also urges that with a view to the implementation of resolution 550 (1984), the area at present under the control of the United Nations Peace-keeping Force in Cyprus be extended to include Varosha.
On October 8, 2020, the Turkish side opened part of the fenced area of Varosha, following an announcement made in Ankara on October 6. Both the UN Secretary-General and the EU expressed concern, while the UN Security Council called for the reversal of this course of action.