No way Turkey will give up its rights as a guarantor power in Cyprus, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said, saying the survival of the pseudo-state and the security of the Turkish Cypriot "people" is "always our red line."
The Turkish minister was responding to a question in the Turkish parliament, asked by Good Party MP Aytun Chirai, whether the claims that Turkey was ready in Crans-Montana to withdraw the Turkish army, minus 650 soldiers, and give up the right to unilateral intervention. The Turkish MP cited secret UN minutes published in the Greek Cypriot press last November.
In his response, Mevlut Cavusoglu denied that he could give up the rights of the guarantor power in Cyprus and said the presence of Turkish soldiers on the island was "the only element" to meet "legitimate concerns" for the security of the Turkish Cypriot "people". Mevlut Cavusoglu said the presence of Turkish soldiers in Cyprus "has a deterrent character against security threats that may arise outside the island. The survival of tdvk and the security of the t/q people is always our red line."
The Turkish Foreign Minister recalled that "claims that Turkey is ready to give up its guarantor rights in Cyprus were also reflected in the g/c press in 2020 and the Foreign Ministry had stated that these reports do not reflect the truth."
Referring to President Nicos Anastasiades' statement that Turkey never wanted the lifting of guarantees, Mevlut Cavusoglu said that "the Greek Cypriot leader, in his statements made after the publication of these documents in the press, admitted that our country at the Conference on Cyprus opposed the abolition of the system of guarantees." The Turkish Foreign Minister also said that "every necessary step to protect the legitimate rights and interests of our country and tdvk in the eastern Mediterranean has been taken so far and all measures will continue to be taken, both on the field and at the table."
Source: CNA
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