Washington condemns Erdogan's project to reopen the abandoned city of Varosha

The United States has condemned the project announced by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to reopen Varosha, the ghost town in eastern Cyprus that was abandoned by its original Greek Cypriot residents nearly half a century ago and today, with the support of Ankara, wants to reopen it under their administration.

"The United States considers what the Turkish Cypriots are doing in Varosha, with the support of Turkey, to be provocative, unacceptable, and inconsistent with the commitments they made in the past to engage constructively in peace talks," US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in a statement on Tuesday. "We urge the Turkish Cypriots and Turkey to reverse the decision they announced today and all the steps that have been taken since October 2020" in the abandoned tourist resort, he added.

"The United States is working with like-minded partners to refer this troubling situation to the UN Security Council, and we will call for a strong response," the statement noted. He stressed, "the importance of avoiding provocative unilateral actions that increase tensions on the island and impede efforts to resume Cyprus settlement talks in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions."

The US Secretary reiterated the US position "in favor of a comprehensive settlement led by the Cypriots to reunite the island within the framework of a bi-regional and inter-communal union for the benefit of all Cypriots and the region."

Since 1974, when the Turkish army invaded the northern third of Cyprus in response to a coup carried out by Greek Cypriot generals with the aim of annexing the island to Greece, the coastal city of Varosha was emptied of its residents and became a military area surrounded by barbed wire under the direct control of the Turkish army, as reported by the French Press Agency.

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