The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has denied claims circulating in the media that Turkish ports would be opened to Cypriot ships in exchange for European visa facilitation for Turkish businesspeople.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Öncü Keçeli dismissed the reports, calling them “purely fictional” and a “product of imagination.”
In a post on his official X (formerly Twitter) account, Keçeli stated: “The claims in the Greek press suggesting that our country’s ports will be opened to Greek Cypriot vessels in exchange for EU visa facilitation for our businesspeople are a product of imagination.”
Meanwhile, the Greek Cypriot government confirmed on Tuesday that it had indeed proposed such an arrangement. Government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis told Morning Roadmap that the initiative is part of Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides’ broader strategy to promote greater EU involvement in the Cyprus issue and to influence EU-Turkey relations.
