Jack Straw's 'two-states' plea for Cyprus sparks fury and accusations

The National Federation of Cypriots in the UK has dismissed an article penned by the British former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw in support of “two states” in Cyprus as “lacking substance and disregarding historical reality, international law and UK Treaty obligations to Cyprus.”

In a hard-hitting response, the Federation commented that Mr Straw “has, once again, demonstrated that he remains frozen in time” with his article in Politico.

They note that his suggestions would render the Republic of Cyprus hostage to Turkey, a country that illegally occupies one-third of its territory.

The response statement adds that the veteran Labour politician’s article has not been a surprise.

They refer to well-known “close links” that Mr Straw has with Turkey, including him “registering over £27,000 from interests relating to Turkey in his final years as an MP.”

The Federation also says that “it is worth noting that Straw’s political career ended with a cash for access scandal” for which he was cleared by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, but “OfCom said in their view he did seek to exploit ‘experience and connections… for [his] own financial interests.”

The Federation statement concludes: “Clearly, anything he says regarding Turkey or Cyprus, is not from the perspective of an impartial observer. Thankfully today, he represents nobody other than himself and those whose interests he seeks to promote.”

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.