WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th October, 2020) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said during a phone call with his Cypriot counterpart that the latest reopening of Varosha by Northern Cyprus is "provocative" and not consistent with efforts to conduct settlement talks, State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said in a statement on Friday.
"Secretary Pompeo and Foreign Minister [Nikos] Christodoulides discussed actions taken by the 'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus' to reopen a part of the fenced-off area of Varosha," Ortagus said. "The Secretary expressed deep concern and noted such a move was provocative and inconsistent with UN Security Council Resolutions 550 and 789 and not conducive to a return to settlement talks."
Pompeo has urged the self-proclaimed republic to reverse the re-opening of Varosha, she added.
"The United States continues to support a comprehensive settlement to reunify the island as a bizonal, bicommunal federation, which would benefit all Cypriots and the entire region," the spokesperson said.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, speaking on October 6 in Ankara at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Ersin Tatar, announced the opening of the Varosha embankment. This is a tourist quarter at the southeast coast of Cyprus, which has been closed to the public since 1974 after occupation of part of Cyprus by Turkish troops and the partition of the island. Varosha is protected by a 1984 UN Security Council resolution.
The decision has been condemned by many members of the international community, including Russia, and the matter was discussed by the United Nations Security Council this past Friday. The UNSC called on Turkey to reverse the decision to reopen the coastline area in Varosha.
Turkey also issued an international Navtex alert late Sunday, October 11, according to which the Oruc Reis vessel will conduct research with the Ataman and Cengizhan vessels south of the Greek island of Kastelorizo October 12-22. The Greek Foreign Ministry said that the area belongs to the Greek continental shelf and is located just 6.5 nautical miles from the coast of Kastelorizo. The territorial waters of the Greek islands in the Aegean Sea are defined at six nautical miles. Ankara said the vessel operates exclusively on the Turkish continental shelf 15 kilometers off the coast of Turkey and 425 kilometers off the coast of Greece.
