Turkey pays tribute to late Greek Cypriot leader Clerides

ANKARA

People pass a poster showing former Cypriot President Glafcos Clerides in the capital Nicosia, on Nov. 15, 2013. AP photo

Turkey has released a condolence message for former Greek Cypriot leader Glafcos Clerides, voicing sadness over his loss and underlining his service for the Greek Cypriot people.

“It is particularly saddening that Clerides lost his life without being able to see that a permanent and comprehensive resolution that would rebuild partnership on the island had been reached,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a written statement released on Nov. 17. 

The statement also recalled that Clerides’ lobbying efforts for a U.N. reunification plan for Cyprus had ultimately failed after the Greek Cypriot side rejected it in a public referendum in April 2004. The plan, named after then-U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, was accepted by the Turkish Cypriot community.

Born in Nicosia on April 24, 1919, Clerides, 94, founded the ruling right-wing DISY party in 1976 and served as Greek Cyprus’ president from 1993 to 2003 in back-to-back terms.

The Foreign Ministry statement particularly underlined that, starting from 1968, Clerides had played an important role in the negotiation process aimed at resolving the Cyprus issue, along with the founder president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC), the late Rauf Denktaş.