AHI Submits Letter to the New York Times; Rebuts Notion that Cyprus Should “Play Nice” with TurkeyWASHINGTON, DC — The American Hellenic Institute (AHI) released a letter to the editor it submitted to the New York Times in response to a March 27, 2013 article titled “For Cyprus, A Sudden Need to Play Nice with Turkey,” by James Kanter. The article suggests Cyprus may need to “brush up” its relations with Turkey in the wake of its banking crisis, the challenge of bringing natural gas reserves to market, and Israel’s apology to Turkey over the Gaza flotilla incident three years ago. In his letter, AHI President Nick Larigakis rebuts this notion stating, “…it is Turkey that continues a policy of non-recognition of Cyprus and pursues an aggressive and provocative stance toward Cyprus and its right to explore for natural resources within its exclusive economic zone.” Larigakis concludes, “If Turkey yearns to become an energy hub, then it is the one that must normalize relations with Cyprus.”
The American Hellenic Institute is a non-profit Greek American think-tank and public policy center that works to strengthen relations between the United States and Greece and Cyprus, and within the Greek American community. ### For additional information, please contact Georgea Polizos at (202) 785-8430 or at pr@ahiworld.org. For general information about the activities of AHI, please see our Web site at https://www.ahiworld.org.
April 2, 2013 Dear Editor: Re “For Cyprus, A Sudden Need to Play Nice with Turkey” (news article, March 27): James Kanter suggests Cyprus needs to “brush up” its relations with Turkey to create a potential natural gas pipeline that would transfer its natural gas reserves to European markets via Turkey, allowing Cyprus to address its financial crisis. However, it is Turkey that continues a policy of non-recognition of Cyprus and pursues an aggressive and provocative stance toward Cyprus and its right to explore for natural resources within its exclusive economic zone. Cyprus’s banking crisis should not hinder from building a LNG plant. Turkey’s motive is to become an energy hub by capitalizing on foreign countries’ reserves (such as Cyprus, Israel and Azerbaijan) because it does not have its own. If Turkey yearns to become an energy hub, then it is the one that must normalize relations with Cyprus. This can begin with the removal of 43,000 Turkish occupation troops and 180,000 illegal Turkish colonists from Cyprus and work toward supporting a just and viable unification of the island. Sincerely, Nick Larigakis
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AHI Submits Letter to the New York Times; Rebuts Notion that Cyprus Should “Play Nice” with Turkey
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