Famagusta is in danger, the EU to act now, tomorrow will be late !!
"For the past two years, Turkey has been continuing its illegal activity in the Cypriot EEZ. For two years now, unfortunately, we have been witnessing a bad theater. To tell you the truth, of course, we did not expect the European Council to impose sanctions on Turkey. And I'm sure he will not impose them in December either, for reasons we all know very well. Of course, sanctions are not an end in themselves, Mr Michel. Give Turkey a positive political agenda. But Turkey must first change course. To stop violating the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus. To enter the negotiations with a positive attitude for a solution of the Cyprus problem, on the basis of the ICC. To stop threatening and methodizing the illegal settlement of Famagusta. Because Javuz left the Cypriot seas and that is good. "But the ghost town for 46 years, the city of Famagusta, is under threat again and is in danger." These were emphatically underlined by the AKEL MEP, G. Georgiou, before the plenary session of the European Parliament, in the presence of Messrs. Michelle and Sassoli. The topic of discussion was the results of the European Council on 1-2 October.
Regarding Famagusta, Mr. Georgiou reminded Mr. Sassoli that 450 years after the siege of Famagusta for a year and its occupation by Lala Mustafa, despite the heroic resistance of a Venetian, Markantonios Bragadinos, he is again threatened with . As he characteristically stated, history should not be repeated. Famagusta is a European affair and the EU must act immediately to prevent this from happening. Mr. Georgiou underlined that if Famagusta is settled, this will be the tombstone for the solution of the Cyprus problem. He added, in fact, that if the Cyprus issue is not resolved, tensions in the Mediterranean will continue and no dialogue will succeed. That is why, he stressed, Europe must act now. Literally now, because tomorrow will be late!
Commenting on the positions of the MEPs, the President of the European Council, Mr. S. Michel, reaffirmed the EU solidarity in Cyprus and argued that it is not enough that Yavouz left, so they will be vigilant. He also stressed that he supports the United Nations process and hopes that there will be an opportunity to resume the dialogue, to discuss various issues, so that there can be progress, e.g. in how the revenue from hydrocarbons will be shared. Of course, the issue of hydrocarbons, to which Mr. Michel referred, is already resolved on the basis of the Christofias-Talat convergences as well as the ensuing actions as part of the acquis of the talks.
In closing, Mr. Michel stressed that Europe supports and will be present at the Multilateral Conference on the Eastern Mediterranean.
Source: KYPE