Media Watch 2005
20 March 2005
Source: Cyprus Mail
Author:
Tory MEP slams Straw comments
"Villiers said the British Labour government ''is so blinded by its desire to see Turkey become a member of the EU that they are prepared to just ignore fundamental issues''... the issue of whether Turkey got a date to open accession negotiations was a hugely important bargaining chip which British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the EU could have used powerfully to put pressure on Turkey to pull its troops out of Cyprus. ''The only concession Turkey gave in exchange for a date was to promise to recognise the government of Cyprus. Now it looks as though Labour are going to let them get away without even fulfilling their promise on recognition,'' Villiers said."
A BRITISH conservative MEP Theresa Villiers has condemned British
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw's remarks regarding the recognition of
Cyprus by Turkey after a meeting with his Turkish counterpart Abdullah
Gul, and demanded that Straw retract his statements.
''It is inconceivable for a country to start accession
negotiations whilst failing to recognise all the existing EU members,''
Villiers noted. According to a press release issued by her office, she
said that she wrote to Straw demanding that he retract his comments,
highlighting ''the real sense of anger and betrayal felt by so many
Cypriots''.
Straw had said that the issue of recognition of the Cyprus
Republic by Turkey would be resolved in the context of Turkey's full
membership of the EU.
Villiers said the British Labour government ''is so blinded by its
desire to see Turkey become a member of the EU that they are prepared
to just ignore fundamental issues''.
''Labour have so often promised action on Cyprus but they break
their promises time and again,'' Villiers added.
According to Villiers, the issue of whether Turkey got a date to
open accession negotiations was a hugely important bargaining chip which
British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the EU could have used powerfully
to put pressure on Turkey to pull its troops out of Cyprus.
''The only concession Turkey gave in exchange for a date was to
promise to recognise the government of Cyprus. Now it looks as though
Labour are going to let them get away without even fulfilling their
promise on recognition,'' Villiers said."
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