Raouna pledges to pursue ‘mutually beneficial relationship’ with Turkey

European Affairs Deputy Minister Marilena Raouna on Wednesday pledged that the Cypriot government will “pursue a cooperative and mutually beneficial relationship” with Turkey during its six-month term as the holder of the Council of the European Union’s rotating presidency.

Addressing the European Parliament’s foreign affairs committee (Afet), she said that relations between the EU and Turkey will progress “in a gradual, proportionate, and reversible manner”.

She went on to say that Turkey’s “progress in democracy, the rule of law, fundamental rights, and alignment with the EU’s common foreign and security policy” is “worryingly low”, and stressed to this end that “commitment to good neighbourly relations and substantial progress on the Cyprus issue … remain essential conditions”.

This progress, she added, must take place within the framework of the United Nations.

“The rules of enlargement apply to everyone, without exceptions, and this is an element of the union’s credibility,” she said, while also stressing that Cyprus’ six-month term “does not constitute a period of activity for relations between the EU and Turkey”.

Her comments come after President Nikos Christodoulides had lamented last week that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s response to an invite to attend an informal meeting of EU member states and neighbouring countries in Cyprus in April was “not positive”,

He said that he had invited Erdogan to attend April’s meeting, and that he had also invited Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to attend an informal meeting of European foreign ministers in Limassol.

Additionally, he said, he had invited Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Mehmet Kemal Bozay, who oversees the country’s relations with the EU, to an informal meeting of the Council of the EU’s general affairs council (GAC) which will be held in Cyprus in the coming months.

However, he said, the response from Ankara was negative.

He had at the end of last month spoken of his intention to invite Erdogan and Fidan to Cyprus during the island’s six-month term as the holder of the Council of the EU’s rotating presidency, saying that “Turkey is not excluded from the Republic of Cyprus, but Turkey must choose whether to insist on its own self-exclusion”.

“We seek for Turkey to seize the opportunity, in connection with its Cyprus-related obligations,” he said at the time.

Fidan had earlier suggested that Cyprus’ six-month term “could also be an opportunity for Turkey”.

He lamented that at present, “the Greek Cypriot administration is placing obstacles in front of Turkey on the international stage”, but also expressed hope that this stance may soften in the near future.

Christodoulides’ overtures to Erdogan last month drew the ire of Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman, with a comment made to French newspaper Le Figaro by Christodoulides stating that he is “prepared to meet [Erdogan] to discuss the Cyprus issue and reach a negotiated settlement” drawing a response.

Erhurman accused Christodoulides of “disregarding his interlocutor and the Turkish Cypriot people, who are on equal footing in all negotiations under the United Nations umbrella”.

He added that Christodoulides’ comments did not “in any way help to create a climate for a solution on the island” and that “on the contrary, it undermines mutual trust”.