The fenced-off area of Maraş and developments in the Eastern Mediterranean have been discussed at the EU Foreign Affairs Council, held in Luxembourg on 18 October 2021, with the participation of Foreign Affairs Ministers of the EU member states.

Despite of the fact that there exist so many other urgent matters which could have been on the agenda of the Council, the EU has opted to include the issues of fenced-off area of Maraş and the Eastern Mediterranean within the agenda items with the sole aim of pleasing the Greek Cypriot side. The biased attitude of the EU under the guise of “membership solidarity” serves no purpose but to deepen the Turkish Cypriot people’s mistrust towards the EU.

The constructive proposals of the Turkish Cypriot side remain to be on the table. In this context, our decision regarding the fenced-off area of Maraş/Varosha, which respects the private property rights; as well as our proposal dated 13 July 2019, which aims to establish cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean, are unfortunately disregarded by the EU.

It is clear that the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions have not yielded any positive result. Bearing this fact in mind, the Turkish Cypriot side has put forward a fresh perspective for cooperation based on sovereign equality of the sides. It is crucial to remind once again that this proposal is the only realistic way for an agreement, as it reflects the facts on the Island of Cyprus.