Regarding the Joint Declaration Following the MED 9 Summit of Southern European Union Countries

Regarding the Joint Declaration Following the MED 9 Summit of Southern European Union Countries

 
The references made regarding the Cyprus issue and statements against Türkiye in the joint declaration issued at the the MED 9 summit which was attended by representatives of France, Greece, Spain, Italy, Croatia, Malta, Portugal, and Slovenia that was held in the Greek Cypriot Administration on October 11, 2024 are deemed unacceptable.
It is evident that the sections pertaining to Cyprus and Türkiye have been drafted by the Greek Cypriot Administration and Greece and have been uncritically accepted by other countries under the guise of “solidarity among EU member states”.  This “joint” text contains statements that diverge significantly from the realities on the ground.
The joint declaration claims that the Cyprus issue is one of “invasion” and “occupation” asserting that it constitutes a problem for Europe; implying that the normalization of relations between Turkiye and the European Union is dependent upon Turkiye’s support for the initiation of the negotiation process regarding Cyprus issue and calls for the avoidance of Türkiye’s unilateral actions aimed at altering the military status of the buffer zone in Cyprus.
EU member states appear to be blinded by the fact that the “Republic of Cyprus” which has been completely transformed into a Greek Cypriot administration through force, lacks legitimacy. The Cyprus issue began with the forcible dissolution of the “Republic of Cyprus” in 1963. The 1974 Peace Operation was not the origin of the Cyprus problem, rather, it was a necessary intervention to prevent further bloodshed by the Greek Cypriots and Greeks, that brought peace and stability to the island.
Although the United Nations has never classified Turkiye’s intervention as “occupation”, EU member states continue to prefer to act under the influence of the Greek Cypriot Administration, seemingly oblivious to this context. This is precisely why the Cyprus issue is not and has never been a European problem.
In 2004, the European Union made a historic error by unilaterally admitting the Greek Cypriot Administration without waiting for an agreement to take place on the Cyprus issue, thereby obstructing any potential for a resolution. This erroneous stance has further complicated the situation regarding the Cyprus issue.
Today, the only obstacle to a mutually acceptable, compromise-based agreement between the two sides on the island is the unconditional support provided by the EU to the Greek Cypriot side, which has no motivation to engage in negotiations aimed at a settlement. The Greek Cypriot side which unfairly is recognized as the sole legitimate authority on the island has consistently sought to play for time through open-ended negotiations that clearly yield no results, and continued to benefit from its recognized status and therefore deepening the isolation of the Turkish Cypriot people.
The Turkish Cypriot side and our Motherland, Türkiye, have put an end to this game played by the Greek side since 2021. It is not possible to enter a new negotiation process without  acknowledging the sovereign equality and equal international status rights of the Turkish Cypriot people.
We invite all countries, particularly those that openly support the EU and the Greek Cypriot Administration to recognize the realities on the island and respect the legitimate demands of the Turkish Cypriot people.