Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar called on Russia to recognise the breakaway ‘state’ and for Russian President Vladimir Putin to interact directly with the north, it emerged on Monday.
“I would like to ask the Russian leadership and the Russian people to reconsider their policy on Cyprus, especially after what happened in Ukraine and what is happening in the world with a multitude of global changes,” he said in statements to the TASS news agency.
“If Moscow had direct relations with ‘northern Cyprus’, this would also be beneficial for Turkey, which seeks to develop relations with all countries, including Russia,” he said.
Tatar said that the north and the south of the island should coexist as separate independent states, while the Russian side should reconsider its approach to this issue in accordance with its interests.
“And Moscow’s interest is clearly not on the side of the European solution, which presupposes that the north and the south of Cyprus should be united in a kind of federation under the leadership of the EU and that Turkey should leave this area completely,” he added.
According to TASS, Tatar is convinced that if a united Cyprus joins the EU, Russia will lose its influence in the region and any political ties with the island.
He added that based on his own position “Cyprus should be divided into two independent sovereign parts and, in this way, Ankara’s presence as a security guarantor on the island would remain, while Turkish troops would continue to provide security in the northern part of Cyprus”.
Meanwhile, the north has been pegged as one of the new hotspots for laundering Russian money, with Trikomo taking up the mantle that Limassol has in the state-controlled areas.
According to The Guardian last month after the raft of files showing Russian interests in Cyprus called ‘Cyprus Confidential’ was released, collaboration between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot lawyers is not uncommon, as rumours circulate of the former passing on their portfolios to Turkish Cypriot colleagues.
“You hear of Russians driving over from the south with suitcases filled with cash,” Şener Elcil a key figurehead from the Turkish Cypriot teachers’ union KTOS told the newspaper.
“This new trend of all these people settling here is causing a lot of problems. In Iskele (Trikomo), the new Limassol, 69 per cent of pupils are either from Russia or Iran. Language difficulties have become a major complaint of teachers.”
The development is linked to sanctions implemented on Russian oligarchs following Russia’s invasion in Ukraine, and a tightening grip on Russian money across the EU – including Cyprus.
The north however, appears to present a haven to evade the tougher EU rules and according to the report, casinos are booming with Russians.
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs Cyprus Mail
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or Cyprus Mail
Source
