President of the Republic Nicos Anastasiadis raised the issue of Turkey`s lack of cooperation with the Republic of Cyprus, with regard to the external aspect of the migration issue, Deputy Government Spokesman Victoras Papadopoulos has said.

“The President of the Republic, during the discussion on migration at the EU summit, seized the opportunity and talked about the Cyprus issue and Turkey, explaining that Turkey does not cooperate with the Republic of Cyprus on the issue of the external treatment of migration. Turkey`s behaviour  in the region and the failure to resolve the Cyprus issue do not allow for peace and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean,” the President pointed out to his counterparts, according to the Spokesman.

According to the same briefing, the President  “has exhaustively addressed the issue of resolving the Cyprus issue on the basis of UN resolutions. A fair solution must not provide for any guarantees, nor any rights of intervention, and especially no Turkish occupation troops.”

Papadopoulos noted that the Greek Prime Minister backed what Anastasiades had said. Alexis Tsipras, who briefed the summit on the results of the visit of the Turkish President to Athens, “stressed in this context what the President had pointed out, namely the need for a solution to the Cyprus problem, on the basis of United Nations resolutions, without guarantees or rights of intervention and without any Turkish troops on the island”.

The deputy spokesperson described the summit as “extremely productive” because, as he said, “EU leaders have dealt with serious issues of concern to EU citizens, such as deepening economic and monetary union, social policy and the implementation of PESCO.”

Papadopoulos placed particular emphasis on the PESCO issue, pointing out that “it is very important that the implementation of programmes, which will expand EU common foreign and security policy, has officially started.”

“Cyprus is at the heart of this effort because it has too much to give, through its facilities in the air and at sea, to achieve the goals set by these programmes and to succeed in the joint effort for a common security and defence in the EU”, the deputy government spokesman noted.

Cyprus has been divided since the 1974 Turkish invasion. Repeated UN-led rounds of peace talks have so far failed to bring about a negotiated settlement to reunite the country under a federal roof.