Turkey slams EU ‘hypocrisy’ over ‘TRNC’ observer status row, Anastasiades says Erdogan does not determine international law (update 2)

President Nicos Anastasiades on Sunday dismissed Turkey’s comments which rejected the EU’s stance over the contentious observer status given to the ‘TRNC’ as an entity at the Organisation of Turkic States.

At the same time, Uzbekistan’s Foreign Minister Vladimir Norov said there had been no question of recognising the ‘TRNC’ as an independent state during the organisation’s summit which was held in Uzbekistan.

In a statement, Turkey’s foreign ministry said “the international community should abandon its attitude considering the Greek Cypriot side as the sole owner of the Island and recognise the ‘TRNC’.”

The row has been brewing since earlier this week when it emerged ‘TRNC’ was granted observer status at the Organisation of Turkic States in Uzbekistan. Observer status is defined as “a privilege granted by some organisations to non-members to give them an ability to participate in the organisation’s activities”.

Cyprus’ foreign ministry called it meaningless as other member states of the organisation had refused to accept an unrecognised state as an observer whereupon Turkey then proposed changing the statute to include ‘entities’.

On Saturday, the European Commission called efforts to give the ‘TRNC’ an observer status “regrettable” and rejected the developments.

Nonetheless Turkey maintained “Turkish Cypriots are an inseparable part of the Turkic world, and it is their natural right to establish and develop relations with Turkic States in every field.”

EU’s attempts, against the call of the UN Secretary General, to hinder the Turkish Cypriot people to become a respectable member of the international community, are incompatible with goodwill, and they also once again clearly reveal the hypocrisy of the union, which has been captivated by the vicious policies of the Greek Cypriot Administration and Greece.”

Asked to comment on Turkey’s statements, Anastasiades said: “if (Turkish President Tayyip) Erdogan doesn’t like it, it’s his problem. International law is not interpreted through Erdogan’s brain.”

What matters is the EU’s positive and steady stance on the matter, compatible with international law and the UN charter, Anastasiades added.