Thursday, November 6, 2014
He said the presence of a Turkish seismic vessel off the coast of Cyprus was hampering the resumption of stalled peace talks and fueling tensions. “What’s happening now is actually quite dangerous and I encourage everyone to do their best to avoid any kind of further escalation,” Eide said after talks with Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos.
He highlighted the need “to create the right conditions.” “That has to do with several factors and the presence of the Barbaros is one of those factors,” he said, referring to the Turkish vessel.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos referred to "provocative actions on the part of Turkey, which openly question the sovereign rights and even the very existence of the Republic of Cyprus." He further added: "Our role is always that of supporting the decisions and initiatives of the President of the Republic of Cyprus and the leader of the Greek Cypriot community. Our criterion is always international legality… The presence of the Barbaros and its activities constitute an affront to international law. We are talking here about a process of the United Nations, which is the institution preeminently serving international law."
