ISTANBUL: Ankara is planning to open the abandoned town of Varosha on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday.
“Yes there are preparations. Varosha will be opened,” Cavusoglu told the private CNN-Turk broadcaster.
Varosha was fenced off by the Turkish military in 1974 when they invaded the north of the island in response to an Athens-engineered coup attempting to unite Cyprus with Greece.
Varosha was the premier tourist resort on the island of Cyprus, but has been abandoned for more than four decades since the Turkish invasion.
The self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was unilaterally declared in 1983 in a move recognized only by Ankara.
Varosha residents were forced to flee south and the town remains occupied by Turkish troops to this day.
Turkey says Cyprus ‘ghost town’ to be opened
Turkey says Cyprus ‘ghost town’ to be opened
- Varosha was the premier tourist resort on the island of Cyprus, but was abandoned after the Turkish invasion in 1974
- Varosha residents were forced to flee south and the town remains occupied by Turkish troops to this day
France to open consulate in Greenland in February
- The comments came on the day that Denmark’s top diplomat is to meet senior US officials at the White House for talks over Greenland
PARIS: France will open a consulate in Greenland on February 6, the foreign minister said Wednesday, calling the move a “political signal” over the strategic Danish territory, which US President Donald Trump has vowed to seize.
The comments came on the day that Denmark’s top diplomat is to meet senior US officials at the White House for talks over the future of vast, mineral-rich Arctic island.
Since returning to office nearly a year ago, Trump has repeatedly mused about taking over Greenland from longtime ally and European Union member Denmark.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told French RTL broadcaster that the decision to open the consulate was taken last summer, when President Emmanuel Macron visited Greenland in a show of support.
“For my part, I went there at the end of August to plan the consulate, which will open on February 6,” he said.
“It’s a political signal that’s associated with a desire to be more present in Greenland, including in the scientific field.”
“Greenland does not want to be owned, governed... or integrated into the United States. Greenland has made the choice of Denmark, NATO, (European) Union,” he said.
Greenland’s leader has said that the island would choose to remain an autonomous territory of Denmark over the United States.
Trump has said the United States needs Greenland due to the threat of a takeover by Russia or China.
The two rival powers have both stepped up activity in the Arctic, where ice is melting due to climate change, but neither claims Greenland, where the United States has long had a military base.
