AVRUPALONDON - Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has stated that despite Turkey's significant efforts to solve the Cyprus problem, a solution could not be reached, and that Turkey cannot be held responsible for this.
Speaking at the Turkish Grand National Assembly, Çavuşoğlu said, "A solution could not be reached because the Greek Cypriot side was reluctant to share governance, power and economic means with the Turkish Cypriots, and we concluded that we could not reach a solution with these parameters. We therefore agreed with the TRNC on our next steps and the way forward. There are elections now in both the North and the South. There is no point in discussing this issue before the elections - it must not be exploited for election purposes, as it is our national cause. As a result, we shall be assessing and deciding on the steps ahead after the elections".
The Turkish Foreign Minister also said that efforts in the period ahead will be concentrated on further promoting the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
"There is no need to pass a new resolution in parliament calling for international recognition of the TRNC. We shall instead be focusing our efforts towards opening more representation offices abroad, and increasing the number of countries in which the TRNC passport is valid. The isolation of the TRNC must end. The EU has failed to keep its promises," he added.