A memorandum of understanding signed this week between the US and the Greek Cypriot administration will harm efforts to resolve the Cyprus issue instead of contributing to peace and stability, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said early Monday.
“WE CALL ON THE US TO RETURN TO ITS TRADITIONAL POLICY”
“The MoU signed between the US and the Greek Cypriot administration on Sept. 12, 2020 and envisaging the establishment of a ‘Land, High Seas and Port Security Center’ in the Greek Cypriot administration ignores the Turkish Cypriot side,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said in a statement.
The steps taken by the US in lifting an arms embargo on the Greek Cypriots and including the Greek side in its International Military Education and Training (IMET) program disrupt the balance between the two peoples on the island and increase tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, Aksoy said.
In this respect, it is striking that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo did not meet with the TRNC during his visit to the island, he added. “We call on the US to return to its traditional policy of neutrality regarding the island and to contribute to the efforts to resolve the Cyprus issue,” he underlined.