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[insan]

Turkey regards Cyprus issue national cause: state minister

www.chinaview.cn 2005-02-20 00:05:28


ANKARA, Feb. 19 (Xinhuanet) -- Turkish State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullatif Sener said Saturday that Turkey considers the Cyprus issue as a national cause.

The elections in Cyprus will not affect Turkey's fundamental targets and efforts to protect interests of the Turkish Cypriot people, the semi-official Anatolia News Agency quoted Sener as saying.

"Turkey should be decisive and show solidarity in this sensitive period. Turkey has always backed Turkish Cypriots and supported them economically and politically," the minister said.

"For years there was a conviction in the international arena that Turkish Cypriots caused the (Cyprus) problem. This conviction was removed with the referendum (held in April 2004)," Sener said.

The election to be held in Turkish Cypriot community on Sunday was "very important", the minister added.

The self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) was forced to call early elections after the ruling coalition lost its slim majority in the parliament last year.

Political stability in the TRNC is seen as crucial for the Cyprus issue, which has faltered since a UN reunification plan was rejected by Greek Cypriots while approved by Turkish Cypriots in last April's referendum.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkish troops entered the northern part of the island in response to a failed Greek Cypriot coup seeking union with Greece.

Turkey, which still keeps over 30,000 troops in northern Cyprus,is the only country that recognizes the TRNC. Enditem

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005- ... 595500.htm