EU condemns northern Cyprus plan to reopen beach in no man’s land

The EU’s diplomatic chief has condemned plans by breakaway northern Cyprus to reopen the beach of an abandoned resort in no-man’s land as a “serious violation” of a UN ceasefire agreement on the divided island.

The Turkish Cypriot leader, Ersin Tatar, backed by Ankara, has vowed to open a coastal section of disputed Varosha, prompting anger from the island’s internationally recognised government.

The EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said the incident would only exacerbate tensions between Turkey and the bloc, already running high over Ankara’s gas exploration in Cypriot waters.

Russia has also said it is concerned by the move.

“The opening of this area, which is a closed area according to the ceasefire agreements under the auspices of the United Nations, is a serious violation of this agreement,” Borrell told the European parliament.

He said the bloc would issue a statement later on Wednesday “asking Turkey to stop this activity”.

“For sure, this is not going to help. On the contrary it’s going to make it more difficult to reach an agreement on an especially difficult situation for all of us on the eastern Mediterranean,” he added.

The Turkish army has kept Varosha fenced off since its Greek Cypriot residents fled when it invaded northern Cyprus in 1974 in response to an Athens-engineered coup attempting to unite the island with Greece.

Turkey, the only country that recognises the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, has long planned to open Varosha, and the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, welcomed Tatar’s announcement.