Despite efforts of government, Turkey continues provocative actions says minister

Despite the President’s efforts to make progress on the Cyprus issue and return to peace talks, Turkey insists on the escalation of its provocative and aggressive behaviour, Interior Minister Nicos Nouris said on Sunday.

Ankara, he said, constantly violates international law and the law of the sea, with its illegal actions directed against the sovereignty and sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus.

In a speech at the National Memorial service of members of the Oxen unit who fell during the Eoka struggle of 1955-1959, the minister stressed the unacceptable attitude of Turkey, “puts on ice” any attempt to return to the talks from our side.

The president, he added, had indicated his readiness to do so through the submission of a series of confidence-building measures (CBMs).

He said the measures are aimed, on the one hand, at creating a climate of trust between the two sides and, on the other, at better preparing the ground for the resumption of the negotiation process on the basis of a bi-zonal bi-communal federation.

The government denounces all illegal actions, which contravene international law and the resolutions of the Security Council, stressing the need to reverse the Turkish actions, including the faits accomplis that are operating in the closed city of Varosha, he continued.