The Turkish occupation in Cyprus is an anomaly for the country and for Europe, we cannot accept the existence of such a division, said the President of the Congress of Deputies (Lower House) of Spain, Francina Armengol Socias, on Monday, during a meeting of a Spanish parliamentary delegation, including the Vice-President of the Spanish Senate, Javier Ignacio Maroto Aranzábal, with the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs, at the House of Representatives.
Welcoming the delegation, the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Parliamentary Committee, DISY MP, Harris Georgiades, expressed the view that “as the European Union we must leave the ‘comfort zone’ in which we have remained for many years” and that “the EU cannot remain an economic giant but also a geopolitical dwarf”.
Referring to Turkey, Georgiades noted that “we do not want Turkey to be cut off from Europe, we want Turkey to become a European neighbour”, adding that “our common interests and our common values do not allow us to turn a blind eye when such states behave in a way that is extremely destabilising and undermining in relation to our common values”.
For her part, Socias said that “this is our first visit to Cyprus, but it will not be our last”. Noting that Spain will take over the Parliamentary Committee for the Union of the Mediterranean, Socias referred to the issue of migratory flows, indicating the need to study and understand migration.
At the same time, she referred to the call by House President Annita Demetriou for cooperation between all the parliaments of Southern Europe to address this issue and to Spain’s experience as a country of first reception of migrants, noting that many migrants come to Spain through the Canary Islands.
She also said that she herself had been President of the Balearic Islands for 8 years, so she understood the experience of Cyprus as a Mediterranean island, with the possibilities and difficulties that this entails.
“The Turkish occupation of Cyprus is an anomaly for the country and for Europe. We cannot accept the existence of such a division,” she stressed, noting that Spain is in favour of dialogue to reach a solution on the basis of a bizonal bicommunal federation and that it understands the difficulties involved. “The Government, the Parliament and the Senate of Spain are with you,” he added.
Subsequently, the President of the Congress of Deputies of Spain spoke about the need for cooperation between the two countries on many issues at the bilateral level and at the level of the Mediterranean countries, pointing out the need to exert pressure to implement the initiatives of the two countries at the level of the European Commission and the European Parliament. At the same time, she praised the role of Cyprus as a pillar of stability in the Mediterranean, for promoting dialogue to resolve conflicts and for its assistance in helping to remove Spanish citizens from war zones.
For his part, Maroto Aranzábal said that Turkey’s occupation of Cyprus must be made known to all EU member states, noting that “Europe is not thoroughly aware of this reality”. He also expressed the commitment of the Spanish Parliament and Senate to explain to Spain what is happening in Cyprus. To do this, he continued, “we need a strong EU and a strong Commission.”
“Only if we have stability can we move forward,” he stressed, adding that Europe is going through a period of instability because there are more and more European parliamentarians who do not believe in European values. At the same time, he said that “Russia finances such situations.”
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
Also read: Cyprus and Spain share common will to enhance cooperation
Source: CNA
