The Government of Cyprus expresses satisfaction with the content of the resolution adopted by the European Parliament on Thursday, Government Spokesman Kyriakos Koushos says in a written statement, noting that the President of the Republic calls on both the Turkish Cypriot leadership and the Turkish Government to implement what the European Union demands through the EP resolution regarding Famagusta and the resumption of the Cyprus talks.

Koushos notes that the government particularly emphasizes on the fact that the European Parliament in its resolution condemns Turkey`s illegal actions in the fenced off area of Famagusta and  urges Ankara to reverse its decisions. It also calls on the Turkish side to return to the negotiating table for the resumption of negotiations from the point they were left in Crans Montana.

We attach great importance, he adds, to the European Parliament`s reference which calls on the European Council to maintain its united stance against Turkey`s unilateral and illegal actions, to take action and to impose harsh sanctions in response to Turkey`s illegal actions.

Koushos stresses that  the negative reactions to the European Parliament resolution by the leader of the Turkish Cypriots, but also by the Turkish Foreign Ministry are in complete opposition to  the relevant resolutions of the United Nations and do not facilitate at all the new initiative undertaken by the UN Secretary-General  just days before his envoy arrives to Cyprus.

He also states that the President of the Republic of Cyprus calls on both the Turkish Cypriot leadership and the Turkish Government to respond positively by implementing what the European Union demands through the European Parliament resolution regarding Famagusta, but also the resumption of talks for reaching a solution of  the Cyprus issue.

“If Turkey really means that the path it wants is the European one, as the Turkish President recently stated, it should respect and follow the European principles and values, the international law, as well as the decisions and resolutions of the EU institutions,” he concludes.

On Thursday, the European Parliament adopted with 631 in favor, 3 against and 59 abstentions a non-binding resolution “on the escalation of tensions in Varosha following Turkey`s illegal actions and the urgent need to resume talks”, after the earlier inclusion of three amendments, two by ECR (European Conservatives and Reformists) and one by the EPP (European People`s Party).

The resolution “condemns Turkey`s illegal activities at Varosha”, calls on the Turkish government “to reverse this decision and avoid unilateral action”, calls on the European Council “to maintain its unified position against its unilateral and illegal actions” and “to take action and impose severe sanctions in response to Turkey`s illegal actions “, while recalling that further sanctions “can only be avoided through dialogue, sincere cooperation and concrete progress on the ground” and calls for the resumption of talks for the reunification of Cyprus under the auspices of the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

More specifically the EP resolution condemns Turkey’s illegal activities in Varosha, in particular its partial ‘opening’; emphasises that the creation of a new fait accompli undermines mutual trust and the prospects for a comprehensive solution of the Cyprus problem, by negatively modifying the situation on the ground, exacerbating division and embedding the permanent partition of Cyprus; warns against any change of the status quo in Varosha in violation of the aforementioned UNSC resolutions.

The EP resolution calls on the UN mission in Cyprus to step up efforts to monitor developments in Varosha and instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and the President, Government and Parliament of Turkey.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. The latest UN backed round of talks took place in the Swiss resort of Crans Montana but failed to yield any results.

The Turkish side illegally opened on October 8 part of the beach of the abandoned town of Famagusta, in violation to numerous UN resolutions.
 
Varosha, the fenced off section of the Turkish occupied town of Famagusta, is often described as a ‘ghost town’. UN Security Council resolution 550 (1984) considers any attempts to settle any part of Varosha by people other than its inhabitants as inadmissible and calls for the transfer of this area to the administration of the UN. UN Security Council resolution 789 (1992) also urges that with a view to the implementation of resolution 550 (1984), the area at present under the control of the United Nations Peace-keeping Force in Cyprus be extended to include Varosha.