The statements of the Spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece regarding the visit of H.E. Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of the Republic of Turkey to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on 1 September 2014, which we wish to consider as stemming from domestic policy considerations, do not reflect the spirit of cooperation which we have recently established with Greece and desire to maintain.

On the occasion of the visit, President Erdoğan explicitly stated once again the determination of the Turkish side to reach a just and lasting settlement in Cyprus and expressed our expectation from Greece to cooperate to this end.

This being the case, the comments of the Spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece have been received with astonishment. Moreover, it is difficult to explain his reference to the research activities started recently in the Turkish continental shelf although they are no concern of Greece.

As is known, involvement of Turkey and Greece as motherlands and guarantors in the Cyprus issue had yielded positive results in the past. As President Erdoğan emphasized during his visit to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Turkey will always continue to be one step ahead in this process in cooperation primarily with the United Nations, the other guarantors and interested countries.

Turkey is determined to reach, without further delay, a lasting political solution to the Cyprus issue which has left its 50th years behind.