Turkey signed an accord extending its customs union with the EU to Cyprus and other new EU members -- a key step toward opening membership talks with the bloc -- but said its signature was not recognition of the Cypriot government.
Britain, which holds the EU presidency, sought to downplay Ankara's non-recognition.
The agreement "is not about recognition [of Cyprus]. It is about signing a customs accord," said an anonymous British diplomat.
It was signed Friday by the British and Turkish envoys to the EU.
In a separate declaration, Turkey noted that the central obstacle to recognition -- the three-decade division of Cyprus into a Greek Cypriot controlled south and a Turkish occupied north -- did not exist when Turkey first signed its customs union with the EU some 40 years ago.
The statement said today's Cypriot government speaks only for the island's Greek Cypriot south, not the Turkish Cypriots who live in a republic established by Ankara and which no other country in the world recognizes.
For its part, Britain, speaking on behalf of all 25 EU nations, simply noted that Turkey reiterated "its long-standing policy on Cyprus," and it welcomed Ankara's commitment to continue to help in the search for end to the island's division. To begin those negotiations, which are expected to last many years, Turkey had to first extend its long-standing customs union with the EU to 10 countries -- including Cyprus -- that joined the bloc just over a year ago.
But its refusal to recognize the government in Nicosia has become a contentious issue in its bid to join the EU.
Drug lord Jose Adolfo Macias Villamar, alias “Fito,” was Ecuador’s most-wanted fugitive before his arrest on Wednesday, more than a year after he escaped prison from where he commanded the country’s leading criminal gang. The former taxi driver turned crime boss became the prime target of law enforcement early last year after escaping from a prison in the southwestern port of Guayaquil. Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa’s government released “wanted” posters with images of his face and offered US$1 million for information leading to his capture. In a country plagued by crime, members of Fito’s gang, Los Choneros, have responded with violence, using car
OVERHAUL: The move would likely mark the end to Voice of America, which was founded in 1942 to counter Nazi propaganda and operated in nearly 50 languages The parent agency of Voice of America (VOA) on Friday said it had issued termination notices to more than 639 more staff, completing an 85 percent decrease in personnel since March and effectively spelling the end of a broadcasting network founded to counter Nazi propaganda. US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) senior advisor Kari Lake said the staff reduction meant 1,400 positions had been eliminated as part of US President Donald Trump’s agenda to cut staffing at the agency to a statutory minimum. “Reduction in Force Termination Notices were sent to 639 employees at USAGM and Voice of America, part of a
Canada and the EU on Monday signed a defense and security pact as the transatlantic partners seek to better confront Russia, with worries over Washington’s reliability under US President Donald Trump. The deal was announced after a summit in Brussels between Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa. “While NATO remains the cornerstone of our collective defense, this partnership will allow us to strengthen our preparedness ... to invest more and to invest smarter,” Costa told a news conference. “It opens new opportunities for companies on both sides of the
The team behind the long-awaited Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile yesterday published their first images, revealing breathtaking views of star-forming regions as well as distant galaxies. More than two decades in the making, the giant US-funded telescope sits perched at the summit of Cerro Pachon in central Chile, where dark skies and dry air provide ideal conditions for observing the cosmos. One of the debut images is a composite of 678 exposures taken over just seven hours, capturing the Trifid Nebula and the Lagoon Nebula — both several thousand light-years from Earth — glowing in vivid pinks against orange-red backdrops. The new image