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Nicosia – Cyprus on Saturday condemned Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s upcoming visit to a disputed coastal resort on the island, on the anniversary of the founding of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which only Ankara recognizes.
Cypriot President Nikos Anastasiades said that Erdogan’s visit, scheduled for Sunday, to northern Cyprus and the city of Varosha, represents an “unprecedented provocation”.
“It undermines the efforts of the UN secretary general to call for an informal five-year dialogue” between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots, Athens, Ankara and London, the former colonial power on the island, he added.
Anastasiades said in his statement that such movements “do not contribute to creating an appropriate and positive atmosphere for the resumption of talks to reach a solution” to the Cyprus problem.
The visit, which comes a few weeks after Erdogan supported his nationalist ally Ersin Tartar, to win the presidential elections in northern Cyprus, is painful for Greek Cypriots, who make up the majority of the island’s population, who never It has waived its demand to allow the displaced from Varosha to return to their homes.
In his statement, the President of the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus and a member of the European Union, said: “These movements enrage all the people of Cyprus.”
Varosha, which was described as the “jewel of the Mediterranean”, has remained closed and surrounded by barbed wire since Turkey invaded northern Cyprus in 1974.
After the invasion, which occurred in the context of a coup aimed at annexing it to Greece, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was declared on November 15, 1983, but only obtained recognition from Ankara.
Turkish forces partially reopened Varosha on October 8, prompting international criticism.
And the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot organizations signed a joint petition calling for a “unilateral” halt to the conquest of Varosha and the cancellation of Erdogan’s visit.
“The festive nature of the reopening, which occurred at the cost of the memory and suffering of its former inhabitants, hurts our conscience,” the petition states.
Hundreds of Turkish Cypriots shouted slogans such as “No intervention” and “Freedom for all” during a protest against the Turkish president’s visit to the north of the divided capital Nicosia on Tuesday.
In the context of the Turkish violations, media sources reported on Saturday that Ankara plans to expand exploration activities off the coast of Cyprus, in a new step that fuels tension with Cyprus and Greece.
The Greek newspaper Kathimerini quoted Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Donmaz as saying: “No one should think that we stopped and took a break, that we continued our work in the Mediterranean,” referring to Turkey’s intention to carry out new drilling activities in the disputed waters off the Saxil of Cyprus. .
Donmaz confirmed that the operations of the seismic survey vessel Barbaros have been extended until February 2021, while the Aruj Prime mission near the Greek island of Calstelorizo ends on November 23, according to Turkish authorities.
Turkey extends its exploration operations from time to time in the eastern Mediterranean waters as part of continuing violations in a region still in dispute with Greece, while Ankara seeks to openly launch European warnings to expand its influence, satisfy its wishes and develop. its resources in a region rich in hydrocarbons.
