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- "Golden age" in British relations with Turkey, despite failure over Cyprus
Reporting by John Kaponi
Greek members of the Conservative Party are believed to be "deeply concerned" over the overtures made by David Cameron the British Prime Minister, in his first visit to Ankara the Turkish capital with verbal and written representations expected to be made today to the Conservative party in protest. The Prime Minister is believed to have enraged Greek Conservatives when he said in Ankara:
"When I think about what Turkey has done to defend Europe as a Nato ally, and what Turkey is doing today in Afghanistan our European allies, it makes me angry that your progress towards EU membership can be frustrated in the way it has been".
"And we want you to continue to work towards a solution in Cyprus, despite our disappointment that a huge effort six years ago was unsuccessful. We will work with you in every way we can as you do this. Of course we won’t always agree on everything, but our common objective is to convince the doubters – whether they are the protectionists, the polarised or the prejudiced – that the case for Turkish membership of the European Union is indisputable, just as I already believe it is."
Responding to these comments the leader of the Greek-Cypriot Conservative group in London Andreas Papaevripides said:
"We as a community (Greek-Cypriots) are extremely concerned that the Prime Minister has not made any substantive efforts to address the clear intransigence in the current talks over Cyprus, emanating from the Turkish-Cypriot side."
"I am alarmed that Mr Cameron despite the concerns of many in this country, and in the European Union, he is (David Caneron) prepared to lobby for Turkey to become a member of the European Union despite the appalling record on human rights and intrinsic cultural differences that exist".
William Hague the Foreign Secretary spoke to an event organised by Greek-Cypriots before the general election and said:
"Ankara must give Cypriots the freedom to choose a settlement for themselves".
The Conservative party has depended heavily on the votes of Greeks in key battle grounds in London, and many of these MPs are expected to receive representations from concerned Greek-Cypriots over the Prime Ministers comments.
A senior member of the conservative party in London of Greek-Cypriot extraction said this morning:
"Giving a blank cheque to Turkey encourages Turkey to be intransigent over Cyprus. There is no mention over the withdrawal of the heavily armed 35,000 troops that Turkey has stationed in Cyprus. There is no mention over the plight of the missing people, there is no mention over the return of the stolen properties. Cameron has failed to win anything from Turkey".
Similar anger is being expressed by members of the powerful Jewish lobby in London, with the Prime Minister making a "ferocious attack" on Israel in Ankara according to a report in The Independent, and comparing the Gaza strip to a "prison camp". photo credit: No10Downing St website Flick feed
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