Turkey to raise Cyprus issue at Nato summit

Turkey will raise the Cyprus issue at the upcoming Nato summit, as Ankara accused Nato of “strengthening the arsenal of the Greek Cypriots”.

Omer Celik, ruling AKP party spokesperson, said the Cyprus problem will also be raised at the Nato summit set to take place in Lithuania between July 11-12.

As for the security and military element, Celik criticised US senators and emphasised that Turkey will not follow in the footsteps “according to their whims… in politics that endangers Nato’s common security”.

On the issue of the Cyprus problem, Celik was quoted as saying by the Cyprus News Agency that “particularly in the upcoming Nato summit, the Cyprus problem will inevitably be on the agenda”.

“As our president recently stated, the equality of the TRNC must be ensured in order for negotiations to take place from now on,” he said, referring to the north.

Celik further said that the Greek Cypriots want to capitalise on what they gained in previous negotiations and wish to progress from there.

“However, the current situation is not healthy, they must stop poisoning the process by conducting joint [military] exercises and strengthening their arsenal,” he said.

The spokesperson reiterated Ankara’s position that there are two equal peoples and two sovereign states in Cyprus, adding that on this matter the US and EU have not been positive.