Egemen Bagis: "Turkey will not give up Cyprus for EU membership"
YAYINLAMA
GÜNCELLEME
EU Minister and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis said yesterday that Turkey would never give up its "national cause", Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), for the sake of EU membership. "Turkey has a clear stance regarding the Cyprus issue and it is impossible for Turkey to recognize the Greek Cypriot administration as a state," said Bagis in response to a parliamentary question. Noting that Turkish Cypriots remained peaceful despite injustices, Bagis said, "It is impossible for Turkey to sit at the table with an administration that is not recognized by Turkey. Bagis emphasized that Turkey would not regard the Greek Cypriot administration as an interlocutor during its EU term presidency, but Turkey's relations with the EU would continue.