Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu on Wednesday slammed the leader of the Greek Cypriot Administration Nikos Christodoulides for a speech he delivered at an event for EOKA fighters.

Christodulides had said it was their duty to pass on the spirit of EOKA to future generations

Pointing out that EOKA emerged as an organization aiming to turn Cyprus into a Greek island, Ertuğruloğlu referred to the persistent efforts of the Greek Cypriot leadership to portray EOKA as a heroic organization fighting for freedom, liberty, and independence.

Stressing that everyone knew what EOKA stood for, Ertuğruloğlu said, “They keep on bringing up EOKA’s terrorist acts and promoting their racist rhetoric and policies. Taking them seriously is not only unnecessary but also a waste of time. If there is an organization on this island that fought for freedom, battled against racism and fascism, it is the Turkish Resistance Organization.”

Also touching upon the Greek Cypriot leadership’s latest remarks concerning the resumption of official negotiations in Cyprus, the foreign minister reminded that the last round of talks based on UN Security Council resolutions had collapsed in Crans Montana.

He added that it will not be possible to engage in negotiations again without recognizing the internationally recognized status of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) as a sovereign and equal entity.

Stressing that the negotiations in Crans Montana had not ended with the intention of being resumed, he said, “That process is over, concluded with Crans Montana. The Greek Cypriot side struggles to understand this or deliberately refuses to acknowledge it. It is as if the talks were temporarily suspended in Crans Montana and now we should continue from where we left off. We absolutely have no intention of doing that. That process is over. Repeating the same things and expecting different results is not an option. We have wasted 60 years, and we do not even have 60 minutes to waste in vain.”

Criticizing the efforts of the Greek Cypriots to involve the European Union in the Cyprus issue, Ertuğruloğlu noted that the EU contradicted its own principles and even membership criteria by admitting the Greek Cypriots into the bloc, and therefore, should apologize to the Turkish Cypriot people for its mistake.