The US incorporated far away lands like Alaska and Hawaii into their country, because of their strategic importance. I don’t think that it is unreasonable to believe that Turkey can be included in the EU in the longer term. The Roman Empire used to include Northern Africa as well, so there is no...
I don’t think you understand the long term strategy of the EU. The EU simply swallows countries that are geographically close and politically aligned, and the borders of the EU are not limited to the current ones.
Cyprus was an easy to get country (they wanted inside the EU and it had a good...
If Turkey would become a EU member, the right of passage through Greek territorial waters would not be an issue, because there is freedom of movement inside the EU.
I know there are many disputes between you and Greece, but the optimal way to handle them is through negotiation and diplomacy...
But you can’t expect a merger between a bigger country and a smaller country (based on population) to be a merger of equals when it comes to government representation.
When Germany reunited, it was basically West Germany absorbing East Germany, not a hybrid state with equal representation...
If the Annan plan was the best deal Greek Cypriots were ever going to get, it means there was never a honest intention to allow for reunification. The Annan plan was not fair to Greek Cypriots and was destined to be rejected in the referendum.
As for the Turkish Cypriot elections this year...
Can’t argue with that. Always happens within the EU.
100% agree with you here as well. But joining the EU customs union will not be easy, and getting a new democratic government seems difficult as well…
While the EU would prefer to integrate Turkey, it cannot ignore the concerns of its two member states. It would be much easier to integrate Turkey if this problem would be resolved.
Nobody is claiming that Turkey can’t survive the EU. But being an adversary instead of a partner or even member...
If you want the EU to not be hostile, you need to mend relations with them. It’s not such a difficult concept to gasp.
As long as Turkey has military in Northern Cyprus, it basically occupies land of a EU country. This is detrimental to Turkey‘s national security, because it keeps the door open...
Netanyahu is wanted by the Hague ICC. You can’t compare Israel with the EU. No country in the EU is doing anything resembling what Israel is doing right now.
If Cyprus would get reunited, there wouldn’t be any genocide happening. It would just see a great influx of investment, and the Northern...
A bias is still a bias, and the majority of the Greek Cypriots of today were not even born during the time of the attempted genocide. You can’t discriminate against the current population based on something that happened 50 years ago.
The EU is actually one of the few entities that also speaks...
There are countless of reasons why the Annan plan was rejected, since it was skewed greatly against the rights of Greek Cypriots.
Here is a list of reasons why they rejected the plan:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annan_Plan#Reasons_for_rejection_as_explained_by_the_Greek_Cypriots
As you can...
From a military perspective, yes, it serves as a strategic base in the East Mediterranean. But is it worth the diplomatic and economic price?
As long as the Cyprus issue remains, the relationship between Turkey and the EU has limited upside. Turkey could achieve a lot more on the diplomatic and...
It is you who lives in fantasy land if you think that today’s Greek Cypriots plan on killing Turks. Things have changed dramatically in the world in the last 50 years. Go visit the Republic of Cyprus and you will see a very peaceful and safe place. It is actually one of the safest countries I...
The Annan plan included the following:
A Senate (upper house), with 48 members, divided 24:24 between the two communities.
A Supreme Court composed of equal numbers of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot judges, plus three foreign judges; to be appointed by the Presidential Council.
So despite...
Stating facts is now “Eurocentric arrogance” ?
Just try to look at that proposal from an impartial point of view, and you will see that it was ridiculous and meant to fail.
I know my opinion will not be popular on this forum, but I think Turkey is doing a big geopolitical mistake by insisting on a failed project (the so called TRNC).
Accusing Central Asian nations of “treason” for recognizing reality is simply wrong. Why would they sacrifice their potential...
If oil continues to go down, the discount of Russion oil should also grow bigger, because if there is less demand for oil, importers can become picky. If there is a global recession and demand for oil goes down, guess which is the first oil to exit the market (or the one needing huge discounts...
Do you actually believe what you just wrote? The US will not be gone in 15 years, and it will still be able to project power in the Middle East. This means that Israel will remain the biggest power in the region, since it will be able to do whatever it wants while nobody has the courage to...
I don’t deny that, but imagine if you would do the same to an Israeli jet, what the response would be. Israel is not Russia. Israel has a super powerful air force, as well as the unconditional backing of the US, which means NATO protection is meaningless against them.
Israel always responds...
