Archbishop of Cyprus: Ankara wants to control entire island, solution unlikely

14:14 31/12/2018 - Πηγή: Τα Νεα

Archbishop Chrysostomos of Cyprus has said that while President Nikos Anastasiades aims to solve the Cyprus problem in his current, second term, Ankara is not yet ready to move toward a solution.

Chrysostomos said that although Ankara says it wants a federation (which countless UN resolutions call for), in fact it wants the worst form of confederation.

He

said that the ultimate goal of Turkey is to gain control over the entire island, and that it has laid the groundwork for this by bringing about 300,000 Turkish settlers (settlers and their descendants) into the Turkish-occupied north in a bid to alter the demographics of the island.

“When the Turks become a majority, they will demand a referendum and say that the will of the people should be heeded,” the archbishop said.

Chrysostomos underlined that historically Turkey has grabbed territories that were not its own and holds them to this day, including Alexandretta and Antioch.