In addition to the ambassador of Sweden, the current holder of the EU’s rotating presidency, ambassadors from Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland, the British high commissioner and the Swiss ambassador, whose country is not a member of the EU, attended the dinner.
Talat informed the guests of the Turkish Cypriot view of the ongoing negotiations between the Turkish and Greek Cypriot leaders over the reunification of the island, the Anatolia news agency reported on Wednesday.
Swedish Ambassador in Nicosia Ingemar Lindahl attended the dinner, although he was warned in advance of a diplomatic protest by the Greek Cypriot government, Anatolia said, citing reports in the Greek Cypriot media. Greek Cyprus is the official representative of the island in the EU.
Hasan Erçakıca, a spokesperson for Talat, called the Greek Cypriot efforts to prevent EU ambassadors attending the dinner an “unacceptable shame” and part of their efforts for maintaining the international isolation of Turkish Cypriots, also in political terms.
Meanwhile, a decision by popular European basketball portal, www.eurobasket.com, to include the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’ (KKTC) basketball league in its reviews have been another source of uneasiness for the Greek Cypriot government. Greek Cypriot Foreign Minister Markos Kyprianou has appealed to the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), asking for their intervention to withdraw the reviews referring to the league in the KKTC, which is not internationally recognized. However, editors of the Web site refused to back down and said they would continue publishing similar reviews.
