President of Cyprus Nikos Anastasiades on Thursday said that Turkey was violating international law and UN resolutions by reopening Varosha, the coastline neighborhood of the city of Famagusta in Northern Cyrus that has been abandoned since the 1974 secession
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th October, 2020) President of Cyprus Nikos Anastasiades on Thursday said that Turkey was violating international law and UN resolutions by reopening Varosha, the coastline neighborhood of the city of Famagusta in Northern Cyrus that has been abandoned since the 1974 secession.
On October 6, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the upcoming opening of Varosha at a joint press conference with Prime Minister of the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Ersin Tatar. On Thursday, Northern Cyprus, a breakaway republic recognized only by Ankara, began to let people onto the embankment of Varosha.
"I consider the decision by Turkey and the occupation regime to reopen the fenced-off part of the city of Famagusta for use as an illegal act and violation of international law and UN Security Council resolutions 550 (1984) and 789 (1992)," Anastasiades said in a statement.
The president also pointed that Cyprus "will not be inactive" and continue protesting against these violations in the United Nations and the European Union.
Josep Borrell, the European Union foreign policy chief, said the 27-member bloc is "deeply concerned" about the development that "will cause greater tensions and may complicate efforts" to restart negotiations.
UN Security Council resolution 550 (1984) considers any attempts to settle any part of Varosha by people other than its inhabitants as inadmissible and calls for the transfer of this area to the administration of the UN, while Resolution 789 (1992) also urges that Varosha come under the control of the United Nations Peace-keeping Force in Cyprus.
