Egypt backs federal peace deal for ethnically split Cyprus

·

Egypt’s foreign minister Sameh Shoukry on Tuesday rebuffed a Turkish push for a two-state peace deal in Cyprus.

He said any talks should adhere to an UN-backed road map reunifying the island as a federation.

He said after talks with his Cypriot counterpart that regional challenges need to be countered based on international law instead of “aggressive activities or expansionist tendencies”.

Turkey is accusing Cyprus of supporting a peace deal that would serve its policy goal of exerting control over the east Mediterranean.

Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides said that he conveyed to Shoukry his government’s “deep concern regarding Turkey’s increasingly revisionist and destabilising foreign policy” in the region.

Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded following a coup aiming at union with Greece. 

Only Turkey recognises a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence in the island’s north where it keeps more than 35,000 troops.

Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar said a prerequisite to reviving stalled peace talks is the recognition of the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state as a legitimate legal entity on par with the internationally recognized Cyprus Republic.

Greek Cypriots fear a two-state deal would entrench Turkish control potentially over the entire island as well as hydrocarbon deposits off its shores.

Turkey doesn’t recognise Cyprus’ statehood and says that much of the sea around the island where the Cypriot government claims exclusive economic rights falls within its own continental shelf.

The Turkish government says a “unilateral” Greek Cypriot bid to carry out drilling off its shores ignores its rights — and those of Turkish Cypriots — to the region’s potential energy reserves.

The Cypriot government says Turkish claims contravene international law and the island’s sovereign rights.

Peace talks have been at a standstill since the last bid to reach a reunification agreement collapsed in the summer of 2017.

Colin Stewart, the new head of the U.N. peacekeeping mission on Cyprus, will host Tatar and the island’s Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades at an informal reception on Tuesday at an abandoned hotel inside a U.N. controlled buffer zone that cuts through the capital Nicosia.

The meeting is billed primarily as a social event geared toward breaking the ice between the two leaders in the absence of formal talks.

Source: AP 

Advertisement

Share:

KEEP UP TO DATE WITH TGH

By subscribing you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

Advertisement

Latest News

Victorian football community mourns after the passing of Heidelberg United’s Keely Lockhart

The Victorian football community is in mourning following the heartbreaking news of Keely Lockhart’s tragic passing.

Alexia Apostolakis debuts for Matildas in narrow defeat to Panama

Greek Australian teenager Alexia Apostolakis made her senior debut for the CommBank Matildas on Saturday. Read more here.

Greek government to host online seminar for Greeks abroad on tax, business and relocation

An online information seminar designed specifically for Greeks living abroad will be held on Wednesday, July 9, 2025.

Erin Patterson found guilty of mushroom lunch murders

Erin Patterson has been found guilty of murdering three of her relatives by intentionally serving them a meal laced with deadly mushrooms.

Global Summit of Hellenic Lawyers set to launch in Athens

The world’s most distinguished Hellenic legal minds are set to gather in Athens for the inaugural Global Summit of Hellenic Lawyers 2025.

You May Also Like

16-year-old Victor Vernicos to represent Greece at Eurovision

16-year-old Victor Vernicos will represent Greece at this year's Eurovision song contest in Liverpool, the United Kingdom in May.

Karavaki: The Greek tradition of decorating boats for Christmas

In Greece, it is an old tradition to decorate a sailboat with Christmas lights instead of a Christmas tree.

Cypriot Australian Andrew Lambrou releases Cyprus’ song entry for Eurovision

Cypriot Australian Andrew Lambrou released his Eurovision 2023 entry song called 'Break A Broken Heart' on Thursday.