A cross-party resolution condemning Turkey’s illegal occupation of Cyprus was tabled in the House of Representatives by MPs Nicole Malliotakis, Gus Bilirakis, Chris Pappas, and Dina Titus.

The goal of the legislators is to highlight the Cyprus issue in view of the arrival of the new president, Donald Trump. In this context, the MPs ask the new president to make solving the Cyprus problem a top priority in his foreign policy.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s authoritarian leader since 2003, bases his policies on an extreme form of religious nationalism and seeks to establish himself as a hegemonic power in the Eastern Mediterranean, North Africa, and the Caucasus by taking provocative actions against NATO allies, the European Union, and the wider region, the resolution notes, among other things.

The Resolution:

• It condemns the continued occupation of Cyprus and calls on Turkey to immediately withdraw its approximately 35,000 troops from the island.
• It calls on Turkey to align itself with democratic principles and the NATO mission.
• It reminds that the solution of the Cyprus problem must be within the framework of the bi-zonal and bi-communal federation.
• It calls on Turkey to end its illegal activities in the Exclusive Economic Zone of Cyprus.
• It calls on the Turkish government to provide opportunities for US citizens to seek financial compensation for their properties in the occupied territories of Cyprus.
• It is demanding Turkey’s cooperation in finding the four US citizens still missing since the 1974 invasion.
• It calls on Turkey to remove most of the illegal settlers from the occupied territories and to contribute to the return of Greek Cypriot refugees.
• It encourages President-elect Trump to make resolving the Cyprus issue a top priority of his administration’s foreign policy.

Source: AMNA

Also read: USA | Amendment to the Defence Budget Strengthens Washington-Nicosia Defence Ties