CYPRUS IS A COMMON ISSUE FOR ALL OF US

Meeting with the Prime Minister of TRNC Irsen Kucuk and the delegation accompanying him at Bagis's office at the Secretariat General for EU Affairs, Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis said that Cyprus is a national issue for the Republic of Turkey and also a common matter for everyone without a distinction of government or opposition, army or civil society and oriental or westerners.

In his statement to the press, Egemen Bagis said that both the United Nations and the European Union were about to be sick and tired of the attitudes of Southern Cyprus.

Mentioning the events after Apoel basketball match, Bagis stated that the public in EU should react to the events. Bagis said:

How will we entrust our kin and brothers in the Northern Cyprus to those who cannot tolerate even a sports competition? That's why we have been tired of repeating for years a resolution based on political equality. You see, they have proved this. All started to put a damper on the universal prestige of international organizations, as well. Now, it is time for UN to consider its prestige. The EU should also remember its prestige and credibility.

Reminding the importance of the Cyprus issue in terms of Turkey's EU process, Bagis said that they had problems about the EU process due to the troubles by the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus and the negotiations with the EU about 17 Chapters of 20, which had not been opened so far, stopped on account of political reasons.

In his statement to the press, Prime Minister of TRNC, Irsen Kucuk said that they had made several visits in Turkey. Stating that they had come to Turkey, since 2011 was declared as the North Cyprus year, Kucuk thanked to the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Turkish Government.

Source: AA