Greek Cyprus upset over Kuwait’s favoring Turkish Cypriots

A recent initiative by Kuwait for easing international isolation on the Turkish Cypriots has apparently sparked resentment in southern part of the divided island with Greek Cypriot government spokesman Christodoulos Pashiardis, saying "it would be an unpleasant development if the puppet regime in the Turkish occupied areas of Cyprus opened a commercial office in Kuwait."

According to reports by the Greek Cypriot media, Pashiardis, nevertheless, also emphasized that "this development does not necessarily give the pseudo state any legality."

"If, in the end, the pseudo state intends to open up a commercial office in Kuwait, this would of course be an unpleasant development. But surely, this does not mean giving any legality to the illegal pseudo state," Pashiardis was quoted as saying in response to questions at a daily briefing on Thursday.

His remarks concerned a development on Wednesday when Kuwait's Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser al-Mohammad al-Sabah told his Turkish counterpart, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) could open a trade office in his country. Erdoğan made the good news regarding the Turkish Cypriots public at a joint press conference with al-Sabah following their talks in Ankara.

Pashiardis also said that the Greek Cypriot Foreign Ministry was already making all necessary representations concerning the issue. Noting that Kuwait had been victim of an invasion in the past, he said, "We believe that this tragic experience constitutes for Kuwait one more reason to support Cyprus, which is also a victim of a continuous invasion. We believe that Kuwait will not facilitate the immolator in its effort to politically strengthen an illegal entity."

"Asked whether there is any danger of the pseudo state becoming Taiwan-style, Pashiardis said that opening up a commercial office in Kuwait or in any other country does not automatically lead to that," the Greek Cypriot daily Financial Mirror reported.

"Such actions do not practically mean that the pseudo state is being politically upgraded. We are making efforts to prevent such actions," he was also quoted as saying.

The four-decade-old Cyprus problem erupted after the eastern Mediterranean island was granted independence from Britain in 1960 and an outbreak of inter-communal clashes in 1963. The Turkish military intervened in 1974 under the terms of the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee since diplomacy had failed to end Turkish-Greek Cypriot fighting. In 1983, the KKTC unilaterally declared independence and has been recognized only by Ankara since then.

Kuwait's recent step followed earlier steps by three other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council as the same type of KKTC trade office was opened in Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Earlier this week, delivering a conference in Ankara, Turkish Cypriot President Mehmet Ali Talat harshly criticized the Greek Cypriot side's opposing stance against the easing of the international isolation of the Turkish Cypriots. Speaking of a recent Greek Cypriot move, namely a set of measures drawn up by the Greek Cypriots to facilitate trade opportunities for the KKTC and reportedly presented to Germany, current holding of the EU's rotating presidency, over the weekend, he said: "In principle, if a package concerning the Turkish Cypriots is prepared, this package should first of all be negotiated with us."