We regret the wording of yesterday’s European Council Conclusions on Turkey condemning Turkey’s “illegal actions” in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea and underlining “full solidarity” with “Cyprus” and Greece.

Such wordings solely based on the Greek Cypriot and Greek claims are unacceptable and create an opportunity for some other countries to hide behind them as well.

The EU’s expression of unconditional solidarity to a country based solely on membership status regardless of the legitimacy of the country’s position shows the EU’s incapacity to remain objective in the Cyprus issue. As long as this stance continues, it will not be possible to accept the EU even as merely a third party in the Cyprus issue.

We find it peculiar that our NATO allies within the EU support the actions of the Greek Cypriot Administration that do not comply with the international law. At the same time, they adopt a discourse that is far away from showing any solidarity with Turkey, a country devotedly fighting against various terrorist entities that also constitute a threat to the EU.

Turkey is working to create a positive agenda in its relations with the EU. Adopting such conclusions with the pressure of some member countries will not contribute to the improvement of our cooperation.