Cavusoglu wants Germany and France to exert pressure on Cyprus for the opening of chapters in Turkey’s accession negotiations
Under the title “Message to Germany and France”, Turkish Cypriot daily Havadis newspaper (06.02.14) reports that Mevlut Cavusoglu, Turkish EU Minister and Chief Negotiator, has recalled that chapters 23 and 24 in Turkey’s accession negotiations with the EU are blocked by the Republic of Cyprus and alleged that the “duty of lifting the blockade of the Greek Cypriot administration”, as he described the Republic of Cyprus, “falls over our European friends, that is, France and Germany”.
In statements yesterday during a meeting with some trade unions, Cavusoglu argued that they wish for this year to pass very productively from the point of view of their relations with the EU and underlined that Turkey should do its duty in the best manner during this process and continue the reforms.
Replying to a question as regards Prime Minister Erdogan’s recent visit to Germany,Cavusoglu noted thatthe opening of chapters 23 and 24 was discussed during this visit and added that “we saw determination as regards the opening of these chapters in the leaders with whom we met during this visit”. He alleged that in order for concrete steps to be taken, the blockade of the Republic of Cyprus should be lifted.
