Turkey will not consider paying a fine imposed on the country by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) for its 1974 intervention in Cyprus, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has said, the Hurriyet Daily News reports.
“We are not thinking of paying this amount to a country that we do not recognize, Davutoğlu said at a press conference on May 13.
In its ruling on a lawsuit filed by Greek Cyprus back in 1994, the ECHR found Turkey guilty on May 12 of violating European human rights agreements, stating that the whereabouts of 1,491 Greek Cypriots was still unknown and that 211,000 Greek Cypriots were forced from their homes after Turkey’s intervention in Cyprus in 1974. The ECHR ordered Turkey to pay 30 million euros to be distributed to the living relatives of the missing people, while it said 60 million euros in damages should be paid for “the enclaved Greek-Cypriot residents “of the Karpas peninsula.”
However, Davutoğlu described the timing of the ruling as “not well intentioned.” “The ECHR should rule on all the missing people cases, including the Turks in Turkish Cyprus,” he said.
“The timing is unfortunate, the comprehensive peace talks have been dealt a huge blow,” Davutoğlu added, referring to the recently restarted negotiations between the two sides of the divided island.
