President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades conveyed the message that measures against Turkey are not "an end in itself" but the goal is to terminate illegal activity and to resume the dialogue in a creative manner in order to find a viable solution to the Cyprus issue.”
Speaking after the EU Summit in Brussels, President Anastasiades said that the EU has gone from words into practical solidarity, with the initiation of the process involving sanctions, adding that this is what the term "targeted measures" really means.
The President revealed that the first draft of the conclusions did not satisfy Cyprus and "so we prepared the new text that was adopted as submitted". He noted that this is the result of a targeted and systematic work over the previous months, which aims to prevent escalation.
>>> ΟΛΗ Η ΡΟΗ ΕΙΔΗΣΕΩΝ BRIEF ΜΕ ΕΠΙΛΕΓΜΕΝΟ ΠΕΡΙΕΧΟΜΕΝΟ <<<
Answering to relevant questions, President Anastasiadis explained that EU partners were persuaded when they realized that Turkey`s words and deeds do not match, particularly after the dispatch of the second drilling ship in Cyprus’ EEZ.
The President also noted that progress on the whole range of Euro-Turkish relations and any other kind of EU-Turkey interaction now depends on Turkey`s change of attitude.
He noted that the European Council endorsed the conclusions of the General Affairs Council, stating that Turkey`s unlawful acts in Cyprus have a serious impact on the whole range of Euro-Turkish relations and made it clear that this concerns pre-accession funds and chapters, high-level political dialogue, and the modernization of the Customs Union.
He stressed that all this depends on how Turkey will behave in relation to Cyprus, and referred to the difficulty of the matter due to member states’ relations with Turkey, for example with regards to the handling of the refugee crisis.
>>> ΔΙΑΒΑΣΤΕ ΟΛΕΣ ΤΙΣ ΕΡΕΥΝΕΣ & ΑΝΑΛΥΣΕΙΣ ΤΗΣ BRIEF <<<
Furthermore, he explained that the positive outcome came as a result of the coordination with the Greek Government, excellent relations with key partners, and coordination at MED7 level.
"We have achieved the necessary legal framework leading to sanctions," the President said. "The aim is to restore order and to end the illegal actions ... the message is that if Turkey wants to continue it will have to normalize the situation and end illegal actions," he said.
He thanked President Juncker, President Tusk, High Representative Moghrenini, Greek PM Tsipras and EU leaders for their full understanding, practical support and solidarity with Cyprus. He reiterated that measures are not an end in itself, but the aim is to end Turkish illegal activities, and to find a functional and viable solution to the Cyprus problem, for peaceful coexistence, stability and prosperity.
CNA