Foreign Minister Nami: “We Accepted Joint Statement Text But Greek Cypriot Side Rejected”
Minister of Foreign Affairs Özdil Nami made evaluations to BRT Channel, with regard to the “Joint Statement Text” being prepared within the context of the full-fledged negotiations expected to resume soon. Foreign Minister Nami explained that the joint statement text proposed by the United Nations was accepted by the Turkish Cypriot side but it was rejected by the Greek Cypriot side.
Nami pointed out that however, the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot delegations were still continuing their studies on the text with the UN officials in order to realize the Leaders’ meeting declared to take place on the 4th of November.
Foreign Minister Nami stated that the problem regarding the joint statement text was the Greek Cypriot side’s insistence to include the issue of Single Citizenship-Single Sovereignty, which was agreed in principle by the two leaders in 2008.
“Greek Cypriot side, while demanding to include the issue of Single Citizenship-Single Sovereignty, which is its priority in the joint statement text, wants to negotiate our priorities like Internal Citizenship and Residual Powers. This attitude cannot be accepted”, Nami added.
Referring to Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Anastasiadis’ intention to convey to the EU Ambassadors his thesis on the active participation of the EU in the Cyprus problem, Foreign Minister Nami said: “They always do this, but the EU emphasizes at every platform that it will give only a technical support to the negotiations. It does not want to fully involve in the Cyprus issue. Moreover, the EU already has a representative, who actively works and gives technical support to the leaders in the buffer zone”.
Stressing that a comprehensive settlement to be reached would be in any case in line with the EU norms, Nami reminded that there exists an EU topic in the negotiations and agreement was reached on this topic.