‘Turkey trying to justify aggression toward Cyprus’

Turkey is following an ‘à la carte’ approach to UN Security Council resolutions, branding them as obsolete or rejecting their content when they do not fit its narrative, Permanent Representative of Cyprus to the UN, Ambassador Maria Michael said.

She made her statements in a letter to the UN Security Council, in response to a letter sent by the permanent representative of Turkey on March 11, saying that Turkey was attempting to convince the council that its aggression had resulted in a valid legal outcome.

The permanent representative of Turkey “engages in a futile attempt to justify their aggression towards Cyprus and to legitimise the establishment of a subordinate secessionist regime, by resorting to historical revisionism and misrepresentation of basic facts,” Michael said.

She noted that Turkey continues to reject the UN-endorsed framework at a time when efforts for the resumption of a process leading to a solution are underway, following the appointment of the Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy, Maria Holguin.

“Turkey [demands] the legitimisation of its imposed division of the island in pursuit of its vision for a ‘two-state solution’ and openly attempts to derail these efforts,” the ambassador said.

She added that the Republic of Cyprus remains committed to supporting the work of the secretary general’s envoy and to charting a positive way forward [towards resuming] negotiations […] fully utilising the [meaning] of the talks.”

She further called on Turkey to engage “in the same spirit to revitalise the peace process,” saying this was vital for all Cypriots as well as for the wider region, where stability was desperately needed.