‘No Disagreement with the EU

On Thursday March 31, Gul claimed that the problem stems from "mistranslation of diplomatic terminology in newspaper jargon," and noted, "There are no problems at the moment. The process has already begun and is continuing." While Turkey argues that the Greek Cypriot side cannot use its ports and airports within the framework of the adjustment protocol, EU officials consider this refusal might be a violation of the Customs Union. The Turkish Foreign Minister denied any problems in his statement yesterday, asking for the statements by the EU officials to be understood properly. Pointing out that there is consensus between the parties, Gul said, " If you convert legal and diplomatic terminology into newspaper jargon, differences will appear. We have discussed this with the EU Commission and reached a consensus. The issues you mention are not a part of this. Is the Commission supposed to object to an official document which it has already agreed on?"

Meanwhile, Kypros Hrysostomidis, a spokesperson for the Greek Cypriot side, claimed that Turkey’s refusal to sign and implement the adjustment protocol would mean "a second violation of the agreements with the EU and the World Trade Organization (WTO)." Hrysostomidis also claimed that arguments by Turkish officials that Greek Cypriot use of Turkish ports and airports could be defined as services, which are not included in the Customs Union, as "weak and baseless opinions."

Meanwhile, the European Court of Human Rights has reached a decision against Turkey in a case brought by the wife of journalist Kutlu Adali, who was killed in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) in 1996. The court has decided that the investigations following the murder were inadequate and has fined Turkey 95,000 Euro, including 20,000 in damages to his wife.