Turkey must end its provocations or will face potential EU sanctions next month, says German FM
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said that Turkey must end its provocations in the Eastern Mediterranean or face potential EU sanctions next month.
Speaking before a videoconference of EU Foreign Ministers on Thursday, Maas said that “it is up to Turkey to decide what decisions will be taken at the European Council in December.”
He said that if there are no positive signals from Turkey by December and only additional provocations, like Erdoğan`s visit to occupied Cyprus last Sunday, then we will certainly have a difficult debate.
Asked whether such a “difficult debate” would also imply sanctions against Ankara, Maas replied: “Certainly. There are some member states, as has been the case in the past, who have always put the issue of sanctions on the table. If there is no improvement in relations with Turkey, I assume that the issue will certainly play a role again in the European Council in December.”
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The last round of negotiations, in the summer of 2017, at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
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.
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