The Ministry of Foreign Affairs evaluated the latest visit to South Cyprus by the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Tiny Kox.

The statement highlighted that Kox’s preference for only holding talks with officials from the Greek Cypriot administration of Southern Cyprus was a biased attitude and called on officials of the Council of Europe and the international community to adopt a more impartial and balanced approach on the Cyprus issue.

In a written statement on Thursday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Tiny Kox by choosing to only hold contacts in South Cyprus had exhibited a biased stance by ignoring the fact that TRNC MPs were also present in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

The statement emphasized that the fact of two existing states and two separate self-governing peoples on the island could not be ignored or denied, and it indicated that treating the Greek Cypriot Administration as the sole legal representative of the island was not a correct approach.

The ministry also pointed out that this approach attributed to the Greek Cypriot side by the international community served the continuation of the status quo on the island.

It noted that the change of the current status quo depended on the courageous and decisive steps taken by the international community.

Among these steps, the ministry said, the acceptance of the reality that the Turkish Cypriot people have their own state with sovereign equality and equal international status based on their inherent rights was crucial.

It stated that an approach that ignores the realities and relies on exhausted formulas will not yield positive results and will only serve to embolden the Greek Cypriot side to continue its tactics of stalling for time.

The statement underlined that the disregard for the voice and opinions of the Turkish Cypriot people, particularly in the current era, constitutes a significant injustice and deficiency.

It pointed out that it is not possible for any contact regarding the Cyprus issue to be considered complete by merely listening to the views of one side on the island.

The statement described Tiny Kox’s visit to the island as an unfinished and incomplete visit, and it called on officials of the Council of Europe and the international community to adopt a more impartial and balanced approach on the Cyprus issue, one that respected the delicate balances on the island.