Labour Party politicians have rejected the former Foreign Secretary (2001-2006) Jack Straw’s comments, made during a Turkish Cypriot event, in which he supported a two-state future for the island of Cyprus and blamed the Greek Cypriot side for the impasse in settlement talks.
North London Labour MP Bambos Charalambous told the Cyprus News Agency that “Jack Straw does not speak for Labour, he is not even a member and he hasn’t been involved in policy making in many years.”
Mr Charalambous added that the position of the Labour Party for many years has been that it supports a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation in Cyprus. “This position remains the same under Keir Starmer and that’s what we will be working for.”
The Labour Party’s policy on Cyprus was also reiterated by a spokesperson for Shadow Minister for Peace and Disarmament, Fabian Hamilton.
“Labour remains committed to a bi-zonal, bi-communal federal political settlement for the island of Cyprus. Ahead of the P5+1 talks in April, we are working closely with both communities to ensure a lasting agreement can be reached in the interests of the people of Cyprus and regional stability,” the spokesperson told the Cyprus News Agency.
Reacting first to Mr Straw’s comments, the National Federation of Cypriots in the UK President Christos Karaolis had criticised them as “utterly reprehensible” but “not surprising”, noting the former politician’s close links to Turkey and that he has been honoured by the Turkish state.
“Clearly, anything he says regarding Turkey, or Cyprus, is not from the perspective of an impartial observer. Thankfully today he represents nobody but himself,” Karaolis had added.
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. The informal conference on Cyprus will take place 27-29 of April in Geneva.