Reuters reference to TRNC

jetl3on


Joined: 10/08/2007
Posts: 56

Message Posted:
25/10/2007 17:18

This just popped up on my Retuers ticker,



Rgds



Jetleon



ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece summoned the British ambassador to Athens on Thursday to protest about the wording in a British document concerning Turkish-held northern Cyprus.



The Greek Foreign Ministry said it called in ambassador Simon Gass after London and Ankara signed a cooperation agreement that included a reference to the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus".



EU-member Cyprus remains divided along ethnic lines since a failed coup in 1974 that was engineered by Athens with the aim of uniting the island with mainland Greece. Turkey invaded the northern third in response and has occupied it ever since.



The Greek Cypriot government in Nicosia is the only internationally recognised authority on the island. Only Ankara recognises the breakaway northern region as a sovereign state.



"The meeting ... was a strong demarche from the Greek side," a source close to the meeting told Reuters.



"The ambassador assured the Greek side London had not changed its stance on Cyprus and does not recognise any authority other than the Greek Cypriot government."



Talks aimed at reuniting the island have stalled since Greek Cypriots rejected a U.N. peace deal in a referendum in 2004. Turkish Cypriots voted in favour of it.