Theresa Villiers, MP for Chipping Barnet and long term campaigner for justice for Cyprus, has expressed her disappointment and concern over the recent statement from the Turkish President during his visit to the northern part of Cyprus.
The statement read out by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the newly elected Turkish President, supported the idea of two states in Cyprus.
Theresa Villiers commented: “I have campaigned long and hard for a resolution in Cyprus. I am dismayed and disappointed by President Erdogan’s recent statement. At a time when the leaders of the two communities in Cyprus are engaged in negotiations to try to make progress towards a solution, this is a deeply unhelpful intervention by the new Turkish President. Creating a separate state of North Cyprus would be completely unacceptable and inconsistent with numerous UN resolutions.”
“Many of my British Cypriot constituents are understandably concerned by the negativity of the President’s words. I would like to reassure them that my North London Conservative MP colleagues and I will continue to campaign for a just balanced and workable solution to reunite the island. That needs to be consistent with relevant UN resolutions, with Cyprus as a single state, with a single international personality and a single citizenship.”
Nicos Anastasiades, President for the Republic of Cyprus expressed his disappointment that Turkey had not at least pretended to demonstrate a determination to help deliver a solution for peace between both sides. Government spokesman, Nikos Christodoulides added that the Republic of Cyprus condemned “every statement or act which refers to a solution that is outside the framework of the UN relevant resolutions, the High Level Agreements of 1977 and 1979 and the joint communiqué.”
A spokesperson from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said:
“We are aware of the remarks made by President Erdogan on 1 September. The UK continues to support UN-chaired negotiations to reach a just, lasting, and comprehensive settlement on the basis of the relevant Security Council Resolutions.”