Foreign Minister Hüseyin Özgürgün has criticized his Greek Cypriot counterpart Markos Kyprianou who promised to the Greek Cypriot People to settle the issue of Maras(Varosa) through initiatives to be launched out of the negotiation process.
Özgürgün said that such attempts were harming the negotiation process. The Foreign Minister stressed that the issue of Maras(Varosa) could only be solved through negotiations to be held between the two sides, warning that the initiatives to be launched in the international arena could heighten tensions on the island.
“Attempts by the Greek Cypriot Administration to establish links between the issue of Maras(Varosa) and the Direct Trade Regulation are unacceptable”, said Özgürgün who reminded that the implementation of the regulation was a promise made by the European Union.
He added that it was out of question for the Turkish Cypriot Side to give any concessions for the approval of the Regulation.
Referring to Greek Cypriot leaders’ statements that a new set of proposals, which includes the issue of Maras(Varosa), was brought to the negotiation table, he criticized the Greek Cypriot Side for announcing the new proposals through the press before bringing them to the table and warned that such statements were poisoning the atmosphere of the talks.