Tuesday marked the 39th anniversary of the illegal declaration of a “state” in the Turkish-occupied north of Cyrpus.
Marking the occasion, Greece’s Foreign Ministry has released a statement in which they deem Turkey’s demand for a two-state solution in Cyprus as “unacceptable.”
“It undermines all efforts to resume negotiations for resolving the Cyprus issue in the framework of UN resolutions,” the statement reads.
Cyprus was split along ethnic lines when Turkey invaded 48 years ago. Only Turkey recognises a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence in the island’s northern third.
“Thirty-nine years after the illegal and condemned declaration of the pseudo-state, no state accepts or recognises any legal or international status of this entity,” the Ministry added.
.@GreeceMFA Statement on the 39th anniversary of the illegal declaration of the pseudo-state in #Cyprus
— Υπουργείο Εξωτερικών (@GreeceMFA) November 15, 2022
➡️ https://t.co/6ncOlgukC8 https://t.co/tVlPL7kXyK pic.twitter.com/ZvPs3Vy9kI
This comes after a recent Summit of the Organisation of Turkic States, where the nation renewed calls for the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to receive legal recognition.
The calls have been rejected by the wider international community, including the European Commission and most recently, the US State Department.
“The United States rejects statements calling for the recognition of the so-called ‘Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’,” a US State Department spokesperson said on Tuesday.
Pointing to the recent summit, the spokesperson said: “This decision is inconsistent with the principle of territorial integrity and the UN Charter. The United States recognises the government of the Republic of Cyprus as the only legitimate government of the island.”
For his part, European Commission spokesperson, Peter Stano said on Saturday: “The EU has made it repeatedly clear, including at the highest political level, that the EU recognises only the Republic of Cyprus as a subject of international law.”
“Any action to facilitate or assist in any way the international recognition of Turkish Cypriot secessionist entity severely damages efforts to create an environment conducive to resuming settlement talks under the auspices of the United Nations,” he added.
