Turkey: Washington should remain neutral in Cyprus issue

SANAA, Sept. 14 (YPA) – Turkey said on Monday that the United States should return to a neutral stance on Cyprus, after Washington and Nicosia signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a training center.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry considered that “the memorandum of understanding will not serve peace and stability in the eastern Mediterranean and will harm the solution of the Cyprus problem.”
The Ministry added that recent steps taken by the United States have increased tension in the eastern Mediterranean.
The Ministry continued, “We call on the United States to return to the neutral policy it has traditionally pursued on the island of Cyprus and to contribute to the efforts aimed at reaching a solution to the Cyprus issue.”
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said earlier this month that the United States would lift a 33-year-old embargo on supplying Cyprus with arms and strengthen its security cooperation with Nicosia.
On Saturday, Pompeo said during a visit to Cyprus that Washington remained “deeply concerned” about Turkey’s actions in the eastern Mediterranean, where it is locked in a confrontation with Greece and Cyprus over gas-rich marine areas.