The 29th Annual Session of the Assembly of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE JPA) continues in Birmingham.
The MEP Mr. Christos Senekis, in his intervention at a session of the Political Affairs and Security Committee, denounced Turkey's actions towards its neighbouring states, which, he said, are exacerbating instability in the Eastern Mediterranean region, in the midst of significant geopolitical changes due to the ongoing war in Ukraine. He pointed out that Ankara invokes international law at will, as in the case of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, while refusing to comply with the sanctions imposed on Russia, but has been flagrantly violating international law in Cyprus for 48 years.
After expressing full support to Greece against Turkish claims in the Aegean Sea, Mr. Seneca condemned Turkey's provocative actions in Cyprus' Exclusive Economic Zone and in the occupied Famagusta. He stressed that the gradual opening of the enclosed area is a violation of UN Security Council Resolutions 550 and 789, which call for the return of the legitimate inhabitants of the area under UN administration.
The Cypriot MP further underlined that the Turkish side's demand for a "two-state solution" as a precondition for the resumption of negotiations cannot be accepted under any circumstances and has already been rejected by the UN, the EU and the international community. Referring, moreover, to the so-called "economic protocol" recently signed between Ankara and the occupation regime, Mr.Seneca pointed out that it is yet another action by Turkey to take full control of the occupied territories.
The Greek Cypriot side, Mr. Senekis, remains committed to creating the appropriate conditions that will allow the resumption of the negotiation process on the basis of international law, the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the principles and values of the European Union. At the same time, it continues to promote regional, trilateral and multilateral cooperation aimed at addressing security challenges in the Eastern Mediterranean region. The Cypriot MEP stressed that the war in Ukraine has caused an unprecedented food and energy crisis and the international community is called upon to find immediate solutions. On the energy crisis in particular, Mr Seneces stressed that the energy resources in the Eastern Mediterranean, including those within the Cypriot EEZ, can be an important alternative source of supply for Europe. In this regard, he referred to the importance of the Euro-Asia Interconnector project, which will enable the electrical interconnection of Israel and Cyprus with continental Europe via Greece.
Finally, the Cypriot MP referred to the migration issue, denouncing the unacceptable instrumentalisation of human suffering by Turkey, which channels irregular migrants into the Republic of Cyprus through the occupied territories, with the result that Cyprus receives the largest number of asylum seekers in proportion to its population among the Member States of the European Union.
(Text as sent by the House of Representatives)
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