The 27 EU foreign ministers today called for a reversal of the Varosha opening, according to EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, who chaired a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council earlier in Luxembourg.
Specifically, in connection with the opening of Varosia and the new Turkish navigational telex (Navtex), the High Representative pointed out that the 27 had a discussion and listened to their colleagues from Greece and Cyprus.
As he stated: "the opening of Varosia undermines mutual trust" and the Ministers believe that "it increases the tensions and must be reversed".
The High Representative stressed that after the end of the 2nd round of elections in the Turkish Cypriot community "negotiations must begin as soon as possible". He even noted the EU's readiness to support the UN negotiations.
In addition, Josep Borrell announced in relation to Navtex that violates the economic zones of Greece and Cyprus that according to the Ministers it is "sad" and "will lead to an increase in tensions and not to de-escalation", according to what the European Council requested. He stated that the 27 will continue to call for de-escalation.
The High Representative pointed out that the European Council has taken a position on Turkey, and will return to the issue again this week. He recalled that the European Council had announced that it would consider whether and to what extent there was a de-escalation at the December meeting in order to take similar decisions.
Source: KYPE