The Cyprus problem
From Myrna Kleapas Sir: There is no country in the world, other than Turkey, which believes that the present status quo in Cyprus is acceptable (Roasted Turkey'. 30 March). By her continuing to occupy part of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus, Turkey is clearly in breach of the 1960 treaties and the UN Charter. Both the United Nations and the European Union have gone even further: they have indicated that the solution to the Cyprus problem should provide for the independence and territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus, based on a bizonal, bicommunal federal system of government, with a single sovereignty and a single citizenship. These positions are consistent with the international community's adherence to the supremacy of the rule of law and not, as it is asserted, the result of a powerful Greek lobby.
Failure by the Turkish government and other thinking Turks to recognise this fundamental point will only delay the solution of the Cyprus problem, but at the same time it will obstruct the fulfilment of Turkey's own aspirations to have the kind of relationship it wants with the European Union.
Myrna Kieopas
High Commissioner, Cyprus High Commission, London W1
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