Cyprus has called on Turkey to pay a $1.3 billion bill on the behalf of the occupied part of Cyprus, arguing that the Turkish Cypriots had not paid for any electricity bill since they separated in 1963.

The Republic of Cyprus says the occupied part of  Cyprus should pay the 1 billion euro ($1.3 billion) electricity debt it has built up, refuting Turkish Cypriot claims of rights over the island’s gold and energy sources that the Greek Cypriot government is planning to sell in order to tackle its financial crisis.

Turks have paid no electricity bills since the separation of Turkish Cypriots from the Cypriot Republic government in 1963, Electricity Authority of Cyprus (AIK) Manager Christos Toufexis told Greek media, amid the ongoing dispute between the two sides of the island over gold reserves and off-shore energy resources that Greek Cyprus is looking to sell in order to recover from the EU bailout.

France 24