President Nicos Anastasiades on Monday briefed the Famagusta Mayor, Simos Ioannou, and the municipal council on the steps being taken in the wake of the Turkish side’s plans to open up the fenced-off town of Varosha to settlement and development in violation of UN resolutions.
The meeting took place at the presidential palace. Speaking afterward, Government Spokesman Prodromos Prodromou told reporters the foreign ministry had submitted its report on the options and recourses open to Cyprus within the UN to halt the Turkish side’s moves.
“The study… on the further movements of the Republic of Cyprus to the UN Security Council has been delivered today to the President of the Republic, with regard to the Turkish challenges in Famagusta,” Prodromou said.
He said the meeting with the Famagusta municipal council was “useful”, and that the president and the foreign minister had briefed them on all matters related to Varosha “including the representations, measures and the moves being made by the Cyprus government”.
“It was decided that there will be full coordination between the government and the municipality to ensure the greatest possible effectiveness of the steps being taken,” he added.
He said there would be more announcements later.
On Sunday, Foreign Minister Nicos Christodoulides said the report contained views from the representative countries of the five permanent members of the Security Council – Russia, China, France, the UK and US – and that the message to be sent to the Turkish side “would be clear”. He said no one could dispute the ownership of Varosha no matter how far the Turkish side proceeded with opening up the ghost town.
Christodoulides was responding at the time to the latest comments by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in an interview with Greek Cypriot newspaper Kathimerini on Sunday where he repeated that Varosha would be opened. “The plan for the city will be made public after the necessary processes are done,” he said. Cavusoglu had visited Varosha last Monday with Turkish Cypriot ‘foreign minister’ Kudret Ozersay.
Cavusoglu said the area should be used. “The non-use of the area serves no one,” he said.
On Saturday night, Anastasiades, at an event in the government-controlled area of Famagusta, pledged to use every diplomatic means at his disposal to raise awareness abroad of the Turkish side’s plans to open up Varosha and that Turkey’s “challenges” as regards the fenced-off town would not go unanswered.
“I will use my presence in the United Nations, I will use my intervention in the UN, I will also have a meeting with the representatives of the five Permanent Members of the Security Council, and with the UN Secretary-General, while at the same time European leaders have been informed and I have requested it be I will be on the agenda of the European Council in Brussels in October,” he said.
“We will do our best to protect the city that has been waiting for 45 years, not for new settlers, but for its residents,” he added, saying he hoped there would be a ray of hope that Turkey could understand the meaning of international law, not only as laid out in the UN Charter but also in the EU acquis.
“Unfortunately, we have all witnessed lately the unacceptable actions and challenges, in violation of international law and relevant UN resolutions, by the Turkish leadership and some others acting on its behalf within the Turkish Cypriot community,” Anastasiades said.
The post Anastasiades receives Varosha report, briefs Famagusta officials appeared first on Cyprus Mail.
Read more → https://cyprus-mail.com/2019/09/16/anastasiades-receives-varosha-report-briefs-famagusta-officials/
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