“On the margins of the Foreign Affairs Council, the priority for us is always the matter of Turkey’s flouting of international law, at the expense of the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus.
In all my meetings with my colleagues, I stress this issue and see that they understand the need, not just for declaring respect for international law, but for desisting from the violation of international law on the ground, which is very important, also following the very clear position stated by the European Council from this perspective.
I would like to hope that Turkey is receiving the messages and understands that, if its aspiration is the European perspective and a regional role – which gains acceptance through the system of international legality – it cannot start from the flouting of international law.”
November 17, 2014