Greek FM tells Turkey to stuff it
Dimitris Avramopoulos says Ankara must cool its 'threats and aggressive attitude' toward Cyprus
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Greece’s new foreign minister says Turkey must stop its “threats and aggressive attitude” toward Cyprus and to help the island nation reunify.
Dimitris Avramopoulos spoke in Nicosia after talks with his Cypriot counterpart, Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis, on Sunday, the day Cyprus assumed the EU’s six-month rotating presidency.
Cyprus was split into an internationally recognized Greek-speaking south and a breakaway Turkish-speaking north in 1974, when Turkey invaded after a coup by supporters of union with Greece. Turkey doesn’t recognize Cyprus as a sovereign country, and peace talks between the rival communities have ground to a halt.
Avramopoulos said Turkey should realize that the Cyprus’ EU membership and the discovery of natural gas off its southern coast could be opportunities to help the reunification efforts.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.