Eurasia Press & News
Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that the resolution passed in the U.S. House of Representatives could undermine UN solution process in Cyprus and efforts for rapprochement between the Turkish and Greek Cypriots.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution on Tuesday “calling for the protection of religious sites and artifacts from and in Turkish-occupied areas of northern Cyprus as well as for general respect for religious freedom,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The resolution was prepared in a biased way by only taking into consideration the allegations of the Greek Cypriot party. The resolution included many mistake of facts that may undermine reliability of the House of Representatives, the statement said.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey militarily intervened and occupied the north of the island following a short- lived coup by a group of Greek officers.
Talks on solving the Cyprus problem started in September 2008, with the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot community leaders committing themselves to working towards a “bi-communal, bi-zonal federation with political equality, as defined by relevant Security Council resolutions.” The two sides, however, are still far apart on a peace accord re-unifying the island.
