UK trade envoy in Turkey, a member of the Labor ASAL Khan, eventually resigned from his post after strong reactions caused by his recent visit to its occupied territories. Cyprus. “Mr Khan has left the position of Special Enlargement in the Republic of Turkey,” Downig Street’s government spokesman confirmed. Mr Khan had only been appointed to this position in January.

In his resignation letter, he notes that he resigns so as not to distract from the government’s commercial efforts, while arguing that his journey was private as “during the summer holidays of Parliament” and had nothing to do with his role as an envoy.

British media, however, point out that Mr Khan had not requested the approval of the Prime Minister’s Office before his visit to occupied Cyprus and was also photographed with Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar in his so -called “official” residence in Nicosia. Photo that promoted AMI what else his government role. That is why it caused the immediate – intense reaction of its Greek Cypriots Britain and later reactions to both government members and senior opposition officials.

The honorary president of the British Inter -Parliamentary Group for Cyprus, a member of the Conservatives Sir Roger Gail, was one of the first to react demanding the immediate removal of Mr Khan from his position.

Shadow Foreign Minister Wendy Morton had stated: “This visit is in danger of undermining the credibility of the United Kingdom as a guarantor of force and as an impartial mediator in negotiations for the resolution of the Cyprus problem. It also sends a worrying message to British citizens of Cypriot descent, many of whom were displaced by the areas visited by Mr Khan. “

In turn, the shadow foreign minister, Priti Patel, who had been forced to resign from the position of Minister of International Development in Teresa May’s government, after unauthorized meetings with Israeli officials, also called on Mr Khan to resign.

As government sources noted in RES-EIA, “it was such the pressure that the British prime minister received from both labor MPs, the opposition and, in particular, from the players of the Cypriot community of London, whose resignation was a one-way street.”

Speaking to RES-EIA, the President of the National Cyprus Federation of the United Kingdom, Mr. Christos Karaolis, one of the leaders of the coordination of reactions, welcomed the resignation of the MP, describing his visit to the occupied “highly inappropriate”.

“The United Kingdom has a special role in Cyprus as a guarantor force and a permanent member of the UN Security Council. Mr Khan’s actions undermined the long -term foreign policy of the United Kingdom in the Cyprus issue, violated international law, struck the sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus and showed disrespect for the lived experiences of the Cypriot community of the United Kingdom, Mr. Karolis RES-EIA.

At the same time, he noted that “Mr Kan’s presence in the occupied areas through an illegal entry point and its connection to the symbols of an unrecognized regime was an attempt to legitimize the occupation. As a result, his position as commercial envoy of the United Kingdom to Turkey made clearly unfounded. His resignation was therefore both necessary and correct. “

Mr Karaolis also emphasized that “this development confirms the UK government’s timeless position: that it only recognizes the Republic of Cyprus as the legal authority on the island and that it does not recognize or recognize the occupation regime in the occupied territories. It also sends a clear message that British officials must comply with international law and the principles of sovereignty, justice and reunification in Cyprus. “