Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said that Turkey’s and the Turkish Cypriot side’s stance on the Cyprus Issue leaves little room for optimism.
In an interview with the Greek newspaper “Realnews”, Dendias noted that there might be a calm summer regarding the Greek-Turkish relations, but he cannot predict that the same will happen in the Cyprus problem.
“I hope that we will have a relatively calm summer in the Aegean, without new challenges. This was the conclusion that emerged from the Prime Minister`s recent meeting with the Turkish President. Unfortunately, as far as Cyprus is concerned and in view of the anniversary of the invasion on 20 July, I could not say the same. We have to be on constant alert,” Dendias said.
The Greek Foreign Minister stressed that the Greek Prime Minister has made clear that “Greece rejects any proposal that does not fall within the framework of the UN Security Council resolutions, namely a bicommunal, bizonal federation. This position is shared by all UN states, with the exception of Turkey.” “Unfortunately, both Turkey’s and the Turkish Cypriot side’s stance leave no room for optimism,” he argued.
Commenting on the recent letter sent by Turkey to the UN, Dendias noted that with this letter Turkey “reiterates its unilateral claims against our country, which we reject in their entirety. We will respond appropriately as usual”.
As he noted, the recent meeting between the Greek Prime Minister and the Turkish President, as well as his contacts with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu have allowed “to break the ice” to a certain degree, but “no significant progress has been made in the two countries’ relations”.
“Our positions remain diametrically opposed. Our difference was and still is that Turkey refuses to respect the basic principles of international law, the law of the sea, good neighboring relations and to withdraw the threat of war against Greece. We have no illusions,” Dendias concluded.