Saturday, July 23, 2011

Turkey on Cyprus: No More Mr. Nice Guy



Cyprus, that cute little island in eastern Mediterranean, has never been on the top of my following list. I have always wished all the best for its peoples, the Greeks and the Turks, but their never-ending disputes have been not just too complicated but also too uninspiring for me.

However, being Turkish inevitably means being connected to Cyprus, for the fate of the island is unavoidably linked with Turkey’s place in the international scene, including its bid to join the European Union. These days, especially, Cyprus looks more and more definitive for us, with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s recent bravado on the island