Turkey on Sunday condemned a statement by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell critical of Turkey’s energy exploration in the Eastern Mediterranean.
“WE WILL PROTECT OUR RIGHTS”
“The EU, acting under the pretext of union solidarity, should first of all end its unrealistic, prejudiced, and double standard policies,” Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hami Aksoy said in a statement.
“The European Union has remained silent since 2003 to the usurpation and violation of the rights of both Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots in the Eastern Mediterranean. The EU has never mentioned or referred to the Turkish Cypriots in any of its statement on the subject and as such it ignored the existence and rights of the Turkish Cypriots,” Aksoy said, referring to the year before Greek Cypriot administration of Southern Cyprus joined the EU, falsely claiming to represent the whole island, including the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
“No one should doubt that Turkey will continue to protect the rights of the Turkish Cypriots also in the south of the island, until their rights to the hydrocarbon resources of the island are guaranteed and a cooperation mechanism is established within the framework of the proposal of 13 July 2019,” Aksoy added, citing a Turkish Cypriot proposal.