Α European member state cannot be under the hegemony of anyone, Government Spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said on Thursday, in relation to alleged statements by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan regarding the reactions of Turkish Cypriots on the issue of the use of the headscarf.

Asked to comment on statements allegedly made by the Turkish President regarding the reactions of Turkish Cypriots on allowing pupils wearing headscarf in schools in the Turkish occupied areas of Cyprus, the Spokesperson said that “it is something that we have repeatedly stated, as the homeland of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, that we do not wish nor can it be acceptable for a European member state to be under the hegemony of anyone.”
He noted that it is precisely these statements attributed to the Turkish President “that prove what we send as a message every day to our Turkish Cypriot compatriots, that the independence, the prosperity of Cyprus and the prosperity and independence of the citizens of the Republic of Cyprus, the future of the Republic of Cyprus can be much more optimistic through the resolution of the Cyprus problem, on the basis of the agreed framework, the bizonal bicommunal federation, as defined in the UN Security Council resolutions, without anachronistic guarantees, without guarantor powers and without interventionist rights”.
He added that the Republic of Cyprus, as an EU member state, was in contact with its European partners “and, through diplomatic channels we have informed them of these latest developments”.
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Source: CNA