Over the past few weeks, the GUE/NGL group has been warning about the provocative activities of Turkey in and around Cyprus, and the possible side effects that the realization of Turkey’s threat to open the enclosed area of ​​Famagusta would cause.

Unfortunately, Turkey has followed through on its threats!

We strongly condemn what Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Turkish Cypriot “prime minister” Ersin Tatar announced yesterday in Ankara: the decision to reopen a coastal zone in the sealed-off area of Varosha. This action constitutes a gross violation of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, and we, as a political Group, are deeply concerned about this new divisive move in Cyprus.

The illegal actions of Turkey undermine the prospects for the resumption of meaningful direct talks on a comprehensive solution to the Cyprus issue on the agreed basis of a bicommunal bizonal federation with political equality, as prescribed by the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions. We urge Ankara to respect the Berlin agreement of November 2019 and to engage in the peace process concretely; to accept that negotiations shall resume from where things were left off at Crans Montana and enter the process in a spirit of good faith to reach a comprehensive solution.

We urge the European Union to take a clear and strong stance against continuing provocation by Ankara and to demand that Turkey refrains from materialising its plans for the illegal settlement of Varosha and commits to the resumption of the peace negotiations on the agreed basis.