Bagis touches upon EU term presidency to be undertaken by Greek Cypriot administration

EU Minister and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis said in televised remarks yesterday that Turkey's ties with the European Commission and European Parliament would not rupture, when the Greek Cypriot administration takes over the presidency next year. "We will just not sit across the same table as the term presidency," Bagis said. Stating that the EU term presidency should be undertaken not by the Greek Cypriot administration, but by the new Cyprus state to be based on political equality and established by both the Greek and Turkish sides on the island, Bagis said that there were many countries expecting news from Turkey to recognize the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and establish diplomatic relations with it. Bagis added, "If the Greek Cypriot administration really wants a solution, it should make good use of the next six months. Otherwise it will regret it." Bagis also criticized the natural gas and oil drilling efforts which have been exerted by Greek Cypriots and stressed the incorrectness of carrying such activities without solving the Cypriot issue.