Ursula von der Leyen says a recent summit of EU leaders sent a ‘very clear message’ to Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip ErdoganNICOSIA: European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said Thursday Brussels would “never accept” the two-state solution for Cyprus that Turkey advocates as a condition for UN-backed peace talks to resume.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey occupied the northern third in response to a coup orchestrated by an Athens-backed junta seeking to annex the island to Greece. Cyprus remains one of the major bones of contention between the EU and Ankara, after a push for two states from Turkish Cypriot leaders backed by Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan helped torpedo the April effort.
“I want our neighbours to know that if they speak to one of our member states, like, for example, Cyprus, in whatever tone, they speak to the EU,” she said. Von der Leyen presented the bloc’s approval of Cyprus reforms under the EU’s €800 billion Recovery and Resilience Plan to combat the impact of Covid-19 across the continent.
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