online, 11.08.16), the Turkish Foreign Ministry has criticised statements made by the Greek Foreign Minister Nicos Kotzias calling for the removal of the system of guarantees in Cyprus and the withdrawal of the Turkish Armed Forces from the island.
A written statement issued by the Turkish Foreign Ministry said that Ankara condemned the statements of Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias made on the 20th of July which attempted to establish irrelevant linkages between the coup attempt in Turkey on 15 July 2016 and Turkey’s guarantor state status regarding the whole of the Island of Cyprus.
The statement pointed out that Athens continued to maintain the same unfortunate and regretful stance as stated in the Greek Foreign Minister’s website posted on the 2nd of August.
It called upon Greece to adopt a constructive and realistic stance on the Cyprus problem and alleged that Turkey’s presence in Cyprus emanated from the 1960 Treaties of Guarantee and Alliance. “We would like to remind that Greece turned a blind eye to the destruction of the partnership Republic in 1963 and supported the bloody coup on the island with the support of the Greek military junta with a view to annexing the island to Greece. In response to this attempt for the complete overthrow of the constitutional order in Cyprus, Turkey intervened and re-established security on the basis of the Treaties of Guarantee and Alliance”, the statement read.
In the aftermath of the heinous coup attempt on the 15th of July, Turkey expects her neighbour Greece to abstain from such unfortunate statements which aim to take advantage of the present situation, and to act in line with the friendly and neighbourly relations and within the necessary spirit of democratic solidarity.
“On this occasion, we once again strongly emphasize that we expect Greece, as the other Motherland and Guarantor State in Cyprus, to approach this issue with a sense of responsibility necessary in this critical period of the comprehensive settlement negotiations on the island”, the statement concluded.
