Ankara, Turkey. Turkey’s foreign minister Hakan Fidan said on Wednesday that Cyprus was blocking efforts to modernise the customs union between Turkey and the European Union, despite what he said was support from most EU member states. He made the remarks at a joint press conference in Ankara with Kyrgyz foreign minister Jeenbek Kulubayev.
Customs union talks
Fidan said there was a strong desire on both sides to update the EU-Turkey customs union, but claimed progress was being slowed by the position of the Republic of Cyprus, which he referred to as the “Greek Cypriot side”.
He said that because the “Greek Cypriot side” was exercising a block on the issue, necessary steps could not be taken at the desired pace.
Fidan said that when one member state does not achieve its objectives on a particular issue, it can block decisions in other areas that are important to the rest of the bloc.
He said the overwhelming majority of the European Union supports updating the customs union.
Meeting with Kyrgyzstan
Fidan spoke after the seventh meeting of the Turkey-Kyrgyzstan Joint Strategic Planning Group with Kulubayev.
He said the two sides also discussed efforts to end what he described as the “unjust isolation” of Turkish Cypriots.
Fidan described Turkish Cypriots as “an inseparable part of the Turkic world” and said the talks also covered the war in Ukraine and the risk of wider regional escalation.
Organisation of Turkic States and EU contacts
Fidan said discussions also addressed the Organisation of Turkic States, which he described as the embodiment of the shared will of the Turkic world.
He said efforts were under way to make the organisation more institutionalised and effective.
Referring to recent meetings in Ankara with European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas, enlargement commissioner Marta Kos and commissioner for internal affairs and migration Magnus Brunner, Fidan described the visit as “an important milestone”.