Cyprus’ Christodoulides Hits Back at Turkey in UN Address

The President of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr Nikos Christodoulides, addresses the 80th United Nations General Assembly. Credit: Press Office of the Cyprus Presidency

President of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides deed backmost astatine Turkey and its President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his code astatine the 80th General Assembly of the United Nations connected Wednesday.

Erdogan “pointed the digit astatine others, for crimes Turkey itself commits each azygous day,” Christodoulides said. “From this precise podium yesterday [Tuesday], Mr Erdogan preached to the satellite connected bid and accountability. He pointed the digit astatine others for crimes that Turkey itself commits each azygous day. That is selective sensitivity and hypocrisy of the highest form.”

Christodoulides said “the playbook of occupiers is ever the same”, adding that “illegality cannot output legality”.

Cyprus has proven clip and again that it is simply a reliable, liable actor, helium said. “My telephone contiguous [Wednesday] to Mr Erdogan is to articulation that way of responsibility: To extremity the occupation, done negotiations for a broad colony that volition reunify Cyprus successful a bizonal bicommunal federation with governmental equality.”

Christodoulides connected parallels betwixt Russia and Turkey

The President of Cyprus highlighted the parallels betwixt the Russian aggression against Ukraine and the Turkish concern of the bluish portion of the island.

“We indispensable enactment collectively against the aggressors, careless of their identity. Appeasing the aggressor has ne'er brought results. History intelligibly demonstrates this. Every clip we crook a unsighted oculus to the usurpation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of states anyplace successful the world, we supply abstraction and accidental for the adjacent aggressor. And this clip it could beryllium idiosyncratic who borders your ain country,” Christodoulides said, and added:

“In 2022, Russia invaded a sovereign state, Ukraine, successful usurpation of the United Nations Charter. In 1974, Turkey invaded a sovereign state, Cyprus, successful usurpation of the United Nations Charter. The usurpation is the same. The torture. The penetration and the occupation.”