Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci has used the Greek Cypriot parliament’s vote on Enosis Day as a pretext to leave the talks, President Anastasiades has said.
Turkey wants the negotiations to be suspended until the referendum on major constitutional changes in Turkey on 16th April has taken place, he said.
“It would have been more honest for (Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci) to have said it’s best to suspend negotiations until the referendum is over,” Anastasiades told Greece’s Skai TV in a television interview.
Turkish Cypriots were offended by the vote to commemorate Enosis Day in secondary schools in the south and Akinci demanded that the vote be rescinded. Anastasiades admitted that it was a mistake. However, it was not a justification for Akinci to leave the talks. He was just looking for an excuse to do so, Anastasiades claimed.
Cyprus Mail