Presidential spokesman Baris Burcu, referring to the visit by the Dutch and French Foreign Ministers, to South Cyprus while not meeting with TRNC officials, was unacceptable.
Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Stef Blok arrived in South Cyprus to discuss bilateral relations, the Cyprus issue and other matters of mutual interest on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Jean-Yves Le Drian will be in Greece on September 6 and in Cyprus on September 7.
In Athens, he will meet with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Foreign Minister Nicolas Kotzias; he will also hold discussions with civil society representatives. In South Cyprus, he will meet with President Nicos Anastasiades and with his counterpart, Nicos Christodoulides, as well as with Elizabeth Spehar, head of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus.
Akinci’s spokesman Baris Burcu said that some countries are holding one-sided contacts with South Cyprus, ignoring the Turkish Cypriot side which also has a contribution to make.
“The Netherlands and France are not just two ordinary countries. They are both important members of the European Union. Furthermore France is a permanent member of the UN Security Council”, said Burcu.
Excluding the Turkish Cypriots from discussions about the island’s future and UNFICyp’s role in Cyprus, does nothing to help resolve the Cyprus issue and only serves to maintain the status quo, he said.
“Such actions only serve to further encourage the Greek Cypriot side, which is not ready to share power or wealth with the Turkish Cypriots, to continue its intransigence on the Cyprus problem”, he added.
Yeni Duzen, Diplomatie.gouv.fr
