Turkey cannot control an EU member: Greek FM on Cyprus

Greek foreign minister Nikos Kotzias gave details on Greece’s position and expectations on Cyprus in a recent interview published Sunday in the Greek paper Real News where he also expressed a hint of praise for Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan describing him as "an intelligent, experienced, important leader" who should realise that problems are resolved through compromises.

"Creative compromises, not shoddy ones. It is up to him to make his choices regarding the Cyprus issue, and he will be judged just as we are all judged. How we are judged, of course, has to concern facts and not metaphysical questions," said Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias.

"Cyprus must evolve into a bizonal, bicommunal federation with full sovereignty as a member of the EU and the UN. The geopolitical interests of a third country cannot be a criterion for a solution to the Cyprus issue.

"Anyone who has a different opinion -- and of course they have a right to that -- has to tell us how they define 'the Cyprus problem," he added, "...do they perhaps want a solution of 'a little sovereignty and a little occupation'? In any case, it will be more useful for them to state their opinion outright, rather than committing hubris, as they have been doing so far."

"Turkey has to realise that, in the modern world, a third country cannot control an EU member state," the foreign minister said.

"The EU cannot accept rights of intervention or, therefore, guarantees on its territory. There are already expert legal opinions on this. But what's more, no one in the modern world can accept something like this for a member state of the UN. Let those who are railing against our policy explain to us, at long last, why they have another opinion and what they base it on," he noted.

If there was no solution, this would not be Greece's fault, Kotzias said, adding that the Greek side "will not become the agents of shoddy 'solutions'."

Asked about the Greece-Turkey-Cyprus Friendship Agreement, Kotzias said Greece has proposed this instead of the treaties of guarantees "based on the global historical experience that we studied carefully." Through this agreement, he explained, "the three countries will cooperate against common current threats, including ecological threats, terrorism and organized crime. There will be a joint mechanism for cooperation and promotion of a positive agenda. What will be ruled out is the right of a country to intervene against or internally in another country. "Some international players want to take the idea of this Agreement and "utilize" it against its spirit, as a new treaty of guarantees. We will not let this happen," he warned.

In this context, he referred to the "Temporary Stationing Agreement" of the Foreign armed forces on the island proposed by Greece, explaining that this was something similar to (though not exactly the same as) what was agreed between Germany under unification and the Soviet Union. "This agreement determined the legal status of the withdrawal of the Soviet military forces and the manner in which the flow of their withdrawal was to be monitored. For the same period of time, the same will hold for the Greek army as well," he said, while noting that the Hellenic Force in Cyprus (ELDYK) was legal on the island, while the many-times-larger occupation army was illegal.

Questioned about the prospects of a 'Taiwan-ization' or even annexation of occupied Cyprus, Kotzias pointed out that Greece and Turkey have agreed that the Cyprus issue is not linked to their bilateral relations, either during the negotiation or due to any result of the negotiation.

"Regarding the scaremongering, I note that it is being used in an attempt to subdue the will of the Cypriot people," he added.

"The other side's problem is that the hydrocarbons aren't located on the north side of Cyprus, but on the south. That international law supports the positions of the Republic of Cyprus," he pointed out. Kotzias said he was hoping and working for precisely this, for a solution to the Cyprus issue so that, as a result, such problems and threats do not arise.