Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has told the Turkish Cypriot delegation headed by Speaker of the House Sibel Siber visiting Ankara, that he closely follows the Cyprus negotiations.
The Turkish president has so far taken a ‘hands off’ approach to the talks. However, he told the delegation to “Stand tall in Cyprus, do not step back”, Turkish daily Milliyet reports.
President Erdogan is also quoted as saying that “the EU’s promises should not be trusted”. Erdogan has reportedly emphasised that no retreat should be made from the Annan Plan, which had been rejected by the majority of the Greek Cypriots in 2004 and argued that “taking a step back would be wrong”.
Referring to highly fertile area of Guzelyurt/Morfou which would be have been returned to its former Greek Cypriot owners according to the provisions of the Annan Plan, Erdogan reportedly said: “Morfou should not be given to the Greek Cypriots, because the Annan Plan had not been accepted”.
Erdogan has also drew attention to the slow pace of the reforms in North Cyprus and added that “the necessary steps for people’s prosperity should be taken”.
As regards the Cyprus negotiations, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has reportedly described the territory issue as “important” and noted that Ankara is not in favour of “putting a limit on citizenships”.
Milliyet
