Northern Cypriot minister offers Russians, Brits escape from Greek Cyprus

NICOSIA – Anatolia News Agency

An employee of Laiki Bank gestures to depositors before the opening of the bank in Nicosia March 29, 2013. REUTERS photo

Turkish Cypriot Finance Minister Ersin Tatar has called on British and Russian nationals living in Greek Cyprus to move to the northern side of the divided island after the Greek Cypriot administration experienced a serious economic crisis.

“[Greek] Cyprus may go bankrupt. Yet it is the Greek Cypriot administration which has gone bankrupt. Thanks to the support of the Turkish motherland, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus has become a factor of stability in the Mediterranean,” Tatar told Anatolia news agency in an interview published today.

Tatar said British and Russian nationals seeking a peaceful country could choose the north, adding that citizens of both Britain and Russia living in Greek Cyprus could buy property and open bank accounts in the north.

“The Greek Cypriot administration will never be the same. Greek Cypriot banks need to implement the laws of the EU if they wish to stay in the Union,” he said.