Sir

Membership to the European Union was achieved after a long and hard journey taken by the Republic of Cyprus. It was not a tool by which Greek Cypriots could be blackmailed into agreeing to a settlement plan that would so clearly deprive them of their human rights and the dissolution of the Republic of Cyprus.

Mr Sonyel (FT, Letters, 24 September) fails to address the real reason why the Turkish Cypriots were, according to him, left out. This is purely the responsibility of Turkey, which has illegally occupied the north of the island since 1974.

Rather than reprimand the EU for its behaviour towards Turkey, I would suggest that Professor Sonyel advises Turkey to withdraw its occupation army from Cyprus, thereby allowing the Greek Cypriot refugees to return to their homes and respect the rule of law. It is only if Turkey learns to live by the norms of the European Union that attitudes towards their possible membership change to the positive.

Yours sincerely
Lobby for Cyprus