The recent visit of the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs to the island and the meetings scheduled as well as statements made within the framework of this visit have, once again, clearly shown why the Cyprus negotiations have not produced a result. As long as the international community supports the unilateral steps of the Greek Cypriot leadership to the total disregard of the will of the Turkish Cypriots, the Greek Cypriot side will stray even further from a solution. Over the past years, the fact that the Greek Cypriots have; firstly, been afforded the right to unilaterally represent the whole of the island, then been granted EU membership on a silver platter without a settlement, and finally now been allowed to continue to conduct natural resource activities without the consent of the Turkish Cypriots, serves for nothing but for a lack of solution.
Yesterday’s statement of the U.S. official regarding natural resources – which all relevant parties, including the Greek Cypriot side, accept to belong also to the Turkish Cypriots – has dealt a blow similarly to the efforts of cooperation on this issue. It is unacceptable that those who claim to “support a settlement on the island” are in support of activities which are in total contradiction to a settlement. It is also unacceptable that the U.S. official has refrained from holding meetings in the North reciprocal to the many meetings that were held in the Greek Cypriot side. The preference to conduct his meetings in such an unbalanced manner during his first visit to the island following his appointment has caused concern regarding his ability to approach the Cyprus issue in a fair and impartial way. We have conveyed our concern regarding this issue to the U.S. Embassy officials and we shall declare at every platform that we consider this approach as both trust-shattering and devoid of sincerity.