The reassurance that the Varosha regime "is and will remain high on our collective agenda to ensure that UN Security Council resolutions are fully respected by all," said EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell. addressing a debate in the plenary session of the European Parliament in Brussels.
Addressing the MEPs, the High Representative stressed that "there should be no doubt: respect for the Varosha regime, as set out in the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, is of the utmost importance".
He reminded MEPs that "the EU Heads of State and Government", ie the EU's highest body and responsible (together with the Foreign Ministers) for formulating and implementing EU Foreign Policy, "have made this point". and "EU foreign ministers are closely monitoring the situation and the UN Security Council held a closed-door hearing on the same subject last month."
"We are all deeply concerned about developments on the ground," he said.
"On 13 October 2020, I issued a statement on behalf of the European Union calling for an immediate reversal of recent actions. "Respect for the relevant UN Security Council resolutions is essential," he said.
"Like the United Nations, the European Union holds Turkey responsible for the situation in the region," he said.
"Recent events around Varosi, including President Erdogan's visit and statements, come at a time when efforts are under way to create a space for dialogue to resolve the Cyprus issue and the wider Eastern Mediterranean," he said.
"We are sending this message to our Turkish interlocutors. I have also conveyed it personally to the new Turkish Cypriot leader: it is time to support UN Secretary-General Guterres in his efforts to resume talks on resolving the Cyprus issue. "Increasing distrust and provoking tensions do not help anyone," he stressed.
He also noted that "the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Cyprus must have full freedom of movement in Varosi to monitor the situation according to its mandate."
He noted that "the EU is fully committed to a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem and to reunification based on a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation with political equality, within the United Nations and in accordance with the principles on which the EU is based."
"The European Union stands ready to play an active role in supporting these negotiations and in finding lasting solutions," he reiterated.
"A stable and secure environment in the Eastern Mediterranean and the development of cooperative and mutually beneficial relations between all partners in the region, bilaterally and multilaterally, is in the strategic interest of the EU," Borrell said.
"As you know, the European Council will assess the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean and relations with Turkey in December, in view of the mandate to continue the preparatory work for what is set out in the conclusions of the European Council of 1 October," he concluded.
Source: KYPE