Nicosia rebukes Ankara for calling Cyprus ‘defunct’ state

Nicosia on Wednesday issued a terse response to a document submitted by Turkey to European Union officials which is said to have described the Republic of Cyprus as a “defunct” state, calling on Ankara to respect the agreements it has made with the European Commission.

“The Republic of Cyprus is a member of the United Nations, a member of the European Union, a state that is recognized by the whole world with the exception of Turkey, as noted by the USA’s vice president,” Cypriot government spokesman Victoras Papadopoulos said, referring to Joe Biden, who visited the island last month. He called on Turkey to respect agreements it has made with the EU and Nicosia.

Meanwhile Greek Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos and his Turk counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu, who met on the sidelines of a summit of NATO ministers in Brussels, agreed to take “very specific steps” within the framework of the international Law of the Sea.