» ERCAKICA SAYS TURKISH CYPRIOT SIDE PUZZLED WITH GREEK CYPRIOT STATEMENTS
The Presidential Spokesperson Hasan Ercakica has reiterated the Turkish Cypriot Side’s commitment to work towards bringing a comprehensive settlement to the Cyprus problem.
`The Turkish Cypriot Side is ready to forward the new process started on the 21st of March until a solution is found to the Cyprus problem` he said.
Speaking at his weekly press briefing, he strongly reacted to statements by Greek Cypriot officials about the work being carried out by working groups and technical committees which were established to prepare the ground for fully fledged negotiations between the two sides.
Pointing out that the Turkish Cypriot Side was puzzled with the Greek Cypriot leadership’s statements that there has been a lack of progress in work carried out by the working groups and technical committees, Ercakica reminded that the Greek Cypriot side knows and accepts that the duties of the working groups and technical committees are not to engage in negotiations but to exchange views and outline the positions of the two sides.
The Presidential spokesman also added that the Turkish Cypriot Side was ready to help Christofias overcome any difficulties he may be experiencing on the domestic front in relation to the process.
On Friday, President Mehmet Ali Talat and Greek Cypriot Leader Demetris Christofias will meet to make an evaluation of the work being carried out by 13 working groups and technical committees.
The meeting will take place at the residence of the UN Special Representative Taye-Brook Zerihoun.
TURKISH CYPRIOT SIDE PUZZLED WITH GREEK CYPRIOT STATEMENTS
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TURKISH CYPRIOT SIDE PUZZLED WITH GREEK CYPRIOT STATEMENTS
by halil » Tue May 20, 2008 8:35 pm
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by halil » Tue May 20, 2008 8:41 pm
Nami says groups have no mandate to negotiate
By Jean Christou
OZDIL Nami, the adviser to Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat on the working groups and technical committees, said their mandate was not to negotiate positions but to outline them.
In an interview with Turkish Cypriot newspaper Yeniduzen, Nami outlined the differing interpretations that each side has of the process, which has led to difficulties.
The Greek Cypriot side has fielded a high-profile team it hoped would prepare the ground quickly for negotiations. However, the process has been slow because the Turkish Cypriot members of the 13 groups and committees have not been given the same powers, international mediators have said.
In the interview, Nami was asked about the differing interpretations coming from each side. “In order to answer this question we have to understand and define well the duties of the working groups. The duties of the working groups are, to put forward in a clear manner the positions of the sides and to find out whether these positions could be brought closer or not,” he said.
He said some of the agenda issues brought the positions of the sides’ closer and some of them could not.
“The duty of the groups is neither to reach an understanding nor to secure a consensus as regards the positions,” said Nami.
“Their duty is to bring closer as much as possible the positions of the sides on possible points. On the issues where no such thing is possible these points would be noted and codified and at the end of the third month will be submitted to the leaders with its pros and cons as a report so that the leaders will use them in their comprehensive negotiations.”
President Demetris Christofias has expressed disappointment over the past week over what he sees as the lack of progress and wants more time before resuming direct negotiations with Talat.
The dilemma has spread to the actual date on which negotiations are to be resumed, another issue that has become an issue of interpretation for both sides.
Talat says the March 21 agreement with Christofias provides that negotiations begin on June 21, three months to the day after their meeting. Christofias interprets the agreement as providing for negotiations after evaluating the results of the committees and groups.
Nami said the Turkish Cypriot side was puzzled by his stance, given that his counterpart at the talks, Presidential Commissioner George Iacovou, did not raise any problem during their meetings.
“Mr Iacovou did not paint the pessimistic pictures that Mr Christofias painted,” said Nami.
“The Greek Cypriot side too knows and accepts that the working groups do not engage in negotiations, they exchange views, they decide the positions and try to bring them closer.”
He said issues such as the EU, economy, administration and power sharing had moved closer but it would not be possible for the groups and committees to move closer on the issues of territory, security and guarantees.
“The Greek Cypriot side had accepted that the territorial issue, guarantees and security issues will be taken up at a later stage. And also everybody knows that the most complex issue of the Cyprus problem is the property issue. Here one could only present a position and try to bring closer certain issues, what else could one do?” said Nami.
He also said the March 21 agreement on when negotiations should begin was very clear, and it led to June 21, he said.
Christofias is due to meet Talat on Friday to sort out the confusion.
Returning from Latin America and the UK yesterday, Christofias said:
“There are committees that can be considered as having progressed and others that can be considered as not having progressed.”
During a talk in London on Sunday, he said that in order for negotiations with Talat to have any possibility of success, they should be based on real and not fictitious progress at the working groups.
“We are working with insistence and patience for progress in the working groups. The results from the working groups so far are, in our opinion, not satisfactory. That is why I asked from the Turkish Cypriot leader to meet to review the work done, to identify the difficulties and problems which exist and see how we can help move things forward. It is known that this meeting has been scheduled for May 23,” he said.
Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2008
By Jean Christou
OZDIL Nami, the adviser to Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat on the working groups and technical committees, said their mandate was not to negotiate positions but to outline them.
In an interview with Turkish Cypriot newspaper Yeniduzen, Nami outlined the differing interpretations that each side has of the process, which has led to difficulties.
The Greek Cypriot side has fielded a high-profile team it hoped would prepare the ground quickly for negotiations. However, the process has been slow because the Turkish Cypriot members of the 13 groups and committees have not been given the same powers, international mediators have said.
In the interview, Nami was asked about the differing interpretations coming from each side. “In order to answer this question we have to understand and define well the duties of the working groups. The duties of the working groups are, to put forward in a clear manner the positions of the sides and to find out whether these positions could be brought closer or not,” he said.
He said some of the agenda issues brought the positions of the sides’ closer and some of them could not.
“The duty of the groups is neither to reach an understanding nor to secure a consensus as regards the positions,” said Nami.
“Their duty is to bring closer as much as possible the positions of the sides on possible points. On the issues where no such thing is possible these points would be noted and codified and at the end of the third month will be submitted to the leaders with its pros and cons as a report so that the leaders will use them in their comprehensive negotiations.”
President Demetris Christofias has expressed disappointment over the past week over what he sees as the lack of progress and wants more time before resuming direct negotiations with Talat.
The dilemma has spread to the actual date on which negotiations are to be resumed, another issue that has become an issue of interpretation for both sides.
Talat says the March 21 agreement with Christofias provides that negotiations begin on June 21, three months to the day after their meeting. Christofias interprets the agreement as providing for negotiations after evaluating the results of the committees and groups.
Nami said the Turkish Cypriot side was puzzled by his stance, given that his counterpart at the talks, Presidential Commissioner George Iacovou, did not raise any problem during their meetings.
“Mr Iacovou did not paint the pessimistic pictures that Mr Christofias painted,” said Nami.
“The Greek Cypriot side too knows and accepts that the working groups do not engage in negotiations, they exchange views, they decide the positions and try to bring them closer.”
He said issues such as the EU, economy, administration and power sharing had moved closer but it would not be possible for the groups and committees to move closer on the issues of territory, security and guarantees.
“The Greek Cypriot side had accepted that the territorial issue, guarantees and security issues will be taken up at a later stage. And also everybody knows that the most complex issue of the Cyprus problem is the property issue. Here one could only present a position and try to bring closer certain issues, what else could one do?” said Nami.
He also said the March 21 agreement on when negotiations should begin was very clear, and it led to June 21, he said.
Christofias is due to meet Talat on Friday to sort out the confusion.
Returning from Latin America and the UK yesterday, Christofias said:
“There are committees that can be considered as having progressed and others that can be considered as not having progressed.”
During a talk in London on Sunday, he said that in order for negotiations with Talat to have any possibility of success, they should be based on real and not fictitious progress at the working groups.
“We are working with insistence and patience for progress in the working groups. The results from the working groups so far are, in our opinion, not satisfactory. That is why I asked from the Turkish Cypriot leader to meet to review the work done, to identify the difficulties and problems which exist and see how we can help move things forward. It is known that this meeting has been scheduled for May 23,” he said.
Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2008
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by halil » Wed May 21, 2008 12:21 pm
By Simon Bahceli
THE TURKISH Cypriot side said yesterday a settlement to the Cyprus problem did not necessarily mean the creation of a new state, and invited Greek Cypriot President Demetris Christofias to come up with “an alternative model”.
“A virgin birth [creation of a new state] was put forward by a third party during negotiations on the Annan plan as a method for bringing the two existing states together,” Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat’s spokesman Hasan Ercakica told the Cyprus Mail yesterday. “If Christofias has a better method, then we are ready to listen to him,” he added.
Ercakica’s comments come just three days before a meeting between Christofias and Talat aimed at reviewing progress in meetings between working groups and committees aimed at laying the ground for fully-fledged negotiations due to start on June 21. There are reports that the Greek Cypriot side may ask for a delay in the start of talks, citing of a lack of progress in pre-negotiation discussions.
Others believe, however, that the possibility of a delay may stem from Christofias’ fears that Turkish Cypriot demands for the creation of a new state, and insistence that Turkey retain the right to intervene militarily if it feels the Turkish Cypriot minority is threatened could lead upcoming talks to failure.
But Ercakica yesterday sought to play down the need for a delay by denying that the Turkish Cypriot side had insisted on a two-state solution, or a the creation of a brand new umbrella state.
“When we or Turkish officials talk of two states and two peoples, we are simply talking about the reality as it is now,” he said, but added: “What we do insist on is political equality, which means that we have active participation and equal say in all major state decisions such as foreign policy and taxation.”
Ercakica could not, however, deny that the preservation of the Turkish military guarantee was in fact a red line for the Turkish Cypriot side, but said, “If Christofias doesn’t believe that security is a real concern of the Turkish Cypriot people, I invite him here to carry out a survey and find out for himself”.
He added that if Turkish Cypriots ever felt they no longer needed Turkey’s protection, they would themselves ask the military to leave.
“The idea that the Turkish army is here against the wishes of the Turkish Cypriot people is ridiculous. If Christofias doesn’t believe me, he can come and ask the people himself,” he said.
Ercakica also addressed Christofias’ concerns, expressed in recent weeks, that ongoing disputes between the military and Turkey’s civilian government could jeopardise negotiations for a settlement by saying, “We are working with all interested parties in Turkey to make sure that the situation there affects us as little as possible. Our aim is to gain us much support as we can for a settlement”.
Looking ahead to Friday’s meeting between Christofias and Talat, Ercakica said he saw no reason why fully-fledged negotiations should not start as planned on June 21.
“When we agreed on March 21 to start negotiations in three months, there was no suggestion that the start was conditional upon progress among the working groups,” he said, adding: “As far as we were concerned, the working groups were not set up to negotiate but to brainstorm, exchange ideas and gather a body of work to place before the leaders to help them in their job. Mr Christofias is now talking about a lack of progress, but the fact that we have identified a number of problems is in itself progress. Rather than establishing fixed positions before we start [fully-fledged negotiations] is not practical. But establishing what the problems may be, and then looking for pragmatic ways around them is.”
Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2008
THE TURKISH Cypriot side said yesterday a settlement to the Cyprus problem did not necessarily mean the creation of a new state, and invited Greek Cypriot President Demetris Christofias to come up with “an alternative model”.
“A virgin birth [creation of a new state] was put forward by a third party during negotiations on the Annan plan as a method for bringing the two existing states together,” Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat’s spokesman Hasan Ercakica told the Cyprus Mail yesterday. “If Christofias has a better method, then we are ready to listen to him,” he added.
Ercakica’s comments come just three days before a meeting between Christofias and Talat aimed at reviewing progress in meetings between working groups and committees aimed at laying the ground for fully-fledged negotiations due to start on June 21. There are reports that the Greek Cypriot side may ask for a delay in the start of talks, citing of a lack of progress in pre-negotiation discussions.
Others believe, however, that the possibility of a delay may stem from Christofias’ fears that Turkish Cypriot demands for the creation of a new state, and insistence that Turkey retain the right to intervene militarily if it feels the Turkish Cypriot minority is threatened could lead upcoming talks to failure.
But Ercakica yesterday sought to play down the need for a delay by denying that the Turkish Cypriot side had insisted on a two-state solution, or a the creation of a brand new umbrella state.
“When we or Turkish officials talk of two states and two peoples, we are simply talking about the reality as it is now,” he said, but added: “What we do insist on is political equality, which means that we have active participation and equal say in all major state decisions such as foreign policy and taxation.”
Ercakica could not, however, deny that the preservation of the Turkish military guarantee was in fact a red line for the Turkish Cypriot side, but said, “If Christofias doesn’t believe that security is a real concern of the Turkish Cypriot people, I invite him here to carry out a survey and find out for himself”.
He added that if Turkish Cypriots ever felt they no longer needed Turkey’s protection, they would themselves ask the military to leave.
“The idea that the Turkish army is here against the wishes of the Turkish Cypriot people is ridiculous. If Christofias doesn’t believe me, he can come and ask the people himself,” he said.
Ercakica also addressed Christofias’ concerns, expressed in recent weeks, that ongoing disputes between the military and Turkey’s civilian government could jeopardise negotiations for a settlement by saying, “We are working with all interested parties in Turkey to make sure that the situation there affects us as little as possible. Our aim is to gain us much support as we can for a settlement”.
Looking ahead to Friday’s meeting between Christofias and Talat, Ercakica said he saw no reason why fully-fledged negotiations should not start as planned on June 21.
“When we agreed on March 21 to start negotiations in three months, there was no suggestion that the start was conditional upon progress among the working groups,” he said, adding: “As far as we were concerned, the working groups were not set up to negotiate but to brainstorm, exchange ideas and gather a body of work to place before the leaders to help them in their job. Mr Christofias is now talking about a lack of progress, but the fact that we have identified a number of problems is in itself progress. Rather than establishing fixed positions before we start [fully-fledged negotiations] is not practical. But establishing what the problems may be, and then looking for pragmatic ways around them is.”
Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2008
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by boomerang » Wed May 21, 2008 12:24 pm
if Turkish Cypriots ever felt they no longer needed Turkey’s protection, they would themselves ask the military to leave.
is this the joke of the day coz sure as hell it ain't 1st of April
I was in the mood for an eric the clown...
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by Nikitas » Wed May 21, 2008 6:54 pm
This is where the political equality thing confuses me. The TCs want to have an equal say in all essential matters. Well the presence of the fucking army is an essential matter and the GCs being political equals are saying NO to its presence on the island. Is that so hard to understand!!!!
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by halil » Wed May 21, 2008 7:19 pm
TWO LEADERS IN CYPRUS WILL MEET TO EVALUATE THE WORK OF WORKING GROUPS AND TECHNICAL COMMITTEES.
Senior aides of the two leaders in Cyprus have met to set the agenda of Friday’s meeting between President Mehmet Ali Talat and Greek Cypriot Leader Demetris Christofias.
It’s been announced after the meeting that the two leaders will discuss the current phase of the work being carried out by 13 working groups and technical committees established to prepare the ground for fully-fledged negotiations between the two sides.
The two leaders will also be able to bring to the agenda any other issues they want.
Senior aides of the two leaders in Cyprus have met to set the agenda of Friday’s meeting between President Mehmet Ali Talat and Greek Cypriot Leader Demetris Christofias.
It’s been announced after the meeting that the two leaders will discuss the current phase of the work being carried out by 13 working groups and technical committees established to prepare the ground for fully-fledged negotiations between the two sides.
The two leaders will also be able to bring to the agenda any other issues they want.
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- Posts: 8804
- Joined: Fri Mar 09, 2007 2:21 pm
- Location: nicosia
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