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| REUTERS photo |
Turkey on Aug. 13 once again hit back at Greek expectations of removing Turkish troops from Northern Cyprus.
In a written statement the foreign ministry rejected statements by its Greek counterparts, saying, โlaying down โsine qua nonโ conditions raise doubts on Greeceโs sincerity and expectationsโ over Cyprus issue.
The remarks were in response to Greek statement published Aug. 11 that said: โThe elimination of the anachronistic system of guarantees and the withdrawal of Turkish troops from Cyprus are sine qua non conditions for a just and viable resolution of the Cyprus issue.โ
Greece added: โOnce again, Ankara appears not to want to respond to the question of whether or not there are putschists among the occupation forces.โ
Responding to Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias repeated calls for the removal of soldiers from Northern Cyprus as one of the โfundamental conditions for the resolution of the Cyprus issueโ, the Turkish foreign ministry on Aug. 11 urged a more โconstructive realisticโ approach from Athens.
The sentiments expressed Aug. 13 continued to push Greece to change its course on the issue.
โOur expectation from Greece is to put an end to their statements that serves no purpose and their efforts on intervening the judicial process over the coup attempt that was blocked by our nation,โ the statement said.
Reunification talks between the Greek and Turkish communities on the island resumed in May 2015 and are expected to be resolved by the end of this year with the formation of a federal administration.
