Dendias hopes for clear EU message to Turkey on Varosha

Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias expressed hope on Monday that EU foreign ministers would clarify where the EU draws a red line regarding the town of Varosha in occupied northern Cyprus, as he arrived for the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels.

“Today, on the 38th anniversary of the proclamation of the pseudo-state in northern Cyprus, the Council will discuss the options paper, which will be presented by [EU High Representative] Joseph Borrell, in order to indicate – I hope – to Turkey the red lines on the issue of Varosha. I hope there will be a European reply today to Turkey’s continued unlawful behaviour and its attempt to disregard the decisions of the UN Security Council,” he said in a doorstep statement as he arrived at the meeting.

In a meeting in Luxembourg on October 18, EU foreign ministers decided that if Ankara’s unilateral actions continued in Varosha, ministers would ask the European External Action Service to prepare an options paper, which is both an analysis of the situation and a proposal for a series of measures the Council could consider if it wishes to take a decision.