Turkish daily newspaper Milliyet has claimed that there is significant difference of opinion on the Cypriot issue between the Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Evangelos Venizelos. The newspaper specifically locates the problem in the upcoming meeting between the general secretary of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mitsialis and the negotiator for the Turkish Cypriot community Osman Ertug.
The newspaper claims that the Prime Minister believes that the meeting with a representative of the pseudo-state of Northern Cyprus such as Mr. Ertug could “legitimize” its status. The report goes one step further and suggests that Mr. Samaras personally blamed Mr. Venizelos for causing this predicament, by agreeing to the meetings when he met with his Turkish counterpart Ahmed Davutoglu in September. This may also explain why Mr. Samaras, according to the Milliyet, objected to the series of meetings between the two diplomatic negotiators.
The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement to deny the Turkish report, while noting that especially in matters of national importance, the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs are in complete agreement. Furthermore, the Minister explained that it will not accept any deviations from the provisions of the 1960 Cypriot Constitution, which refers to a Turkish Cypriot community and not a sovereign nation.
