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[halil]

Speech by Turkish Cypriots President Talat at the Meeting of Turkish and Greek Cypriot Chambers of Trade.

Esteemed businesspeople,

Today, you are hosting a very important meeting.

We are aware that the prospect of success of the negotiations we have been carrying out together with my dear friend Mr. Demetris Christofias is closely related to your success. Regardless of the terms of the settlement we are going to agree on, if the business community fails to improve the economy of Cyprus and the expectancies of the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot peoples are not met, it will be quite difficult to sustain the agreement that will be reached. It is also probable that we will be accused of not having reached a good agreement.

Contrary to this, the success of the business community will strengthen our success and will prevail over the weak points that might be included in the settlement.

Therefore, this meeting is quite significant. If this meeting represents the commencement of the cooperation for the business community, it should also be a commencement for the settlement process of the Cyprus problem. You should be aware that the real solution of the Cyprus problem can be reached through your economic success and you should consider the significance of your cooperation with this in mind.

Esteemed businesspeople,

Our world is going through a serious crisis. We are all having our own share of it. We do not exactly know for how long this crisis will last or what kind of effects it will inflict on us. However, there is one thing for sure: There is no way out of this crisis on our own…The crisis is on a global scale; therefore we require global solutions. There is a need for the adoption of global regulations and measures so as to prevent similar crises in the future or at least diminish their possible effects.

Unlike the past, protecting our economies by isolating ourselves from the problems and misdeeds is no longer possible. Humankind has to create a better world by joining forces and cooperation.

Our participation in this cooperation as the Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots would be through the new united Cyprus. Without the new united Cyprus, we can neither take our place in this process nor have a positive role in the development of the world.

A new united Cyprus would not only create a new business climate on our island and in our region but it will also become a center of attraction in the Eastern Mediterranean. A new united Cyprus will expand your business opportunities and your chances of success and it will be carried to the future with the help of your success.

Esteemed businesspeople,

The new world will advance through harmonized and competitive economies. We need to work together to create an economy that is harmonized enough to serve the world economy and competitive enough to survive under the new conditions. We also need to cooperate and coexist in a Cyprus free of political problems. I and my dear friend Demetris will continue to work toward this end.

Esteemed guests,

I do not wish to mislead you by portraying a completely optimistic picture or impair your trust in me by ignoring the difficulties. I need to confess that there are also difficulties in this process.

There are political difficulties. In order to move from the conditions of conflict to the conditions of cooperation, we have to have more mutual confidence. However, in order to do so we need to reach a political settlement. Building confidence is dependent on the agreement; the agreement is dependent on building confidence. It may seem that we are faced with a dilemma but Demetris and I are determined to overcome it.

Besides political difficulties, we also have economic difficulties. Economic inequality threatens not only the prospects of reaching an agreement but the sustainability of an agreement as well. However, there are things that we can do to handle this. Transitional periods can be made use of to overcome the economic inequality. By doing so, we will not only provide an opportunity for the Turkish Cypriot economy to develop but also will protect the Greek Cypriot economy against the problems of economic inequality.

Esteemed businesspeople,

As you all know, the full fledged negotiations are underway since September last year. First of all, we have undertaken the issue of Governance and Power Sharing which I deem as the main reason for the existence of the Cyprus problem. We negotiated this issue for a long time. There was convergence on some issues and disagreements on the others. This was expected as we were negotiating the substance, the main source of the Cyprus problem as I have just mentioned… If it were not a difficult issue, wouldn’t the Cyprus problem be settled a long time ago? We have not officially announced the issues we have undertaken or the issues of convergence and divergence but many issues regarding the negotiations have, one way or the other, transpired in the press. However, I do want to talk about the details of the negotiations and I don’t think that it will be correct to do so.

The property issue was the most difficult one. Taking up this issue was really challenging for us. Nevertheless, we both explained ourselves and understood each other. If the close relevance between the issues of property and economy is taken into consideration, it will be better understood that we are facing an uphill task to solve a very important problem.

Since our last meeting, we have started to discuss the subject of EU matters. As we have not yet been able to discuss this issue completely, I cannot predict the extent of convergence we will reach in this subject as we are yet to discuss its all aspects.

However, I can clearly state that as the Turkish Cypriot side we are determined to solve the Cyprus problem and we will do our utmost to this end. Since my friend Demetris has also confirmed this on various occasions, it means that there is a common determination in this regard. I would like to say that I am pleased to have this opportunity to reiterate our determination before you today.

Esteemed friends,

I would like to conclude by saying that we will need your contributions more than ever in the settlement process. I kindly request your inputs while we discuss the terms of the settlement regarding the economic life or the transitional periods. We need your opinion on the political issues as well. Your support for the acceptance and the implementation of a settlement would be invaluable. It will not be possible to implement the provisions of the agreement to be written on the settlement document without the contribution of you and of the all Turkish and Greek Cypriots. I would like to assure you that we always act conscious of this fact.

We also should never forget one thing. Every day without a settlement is a lost. The more we delay the settlement, the more difficult it becomes. We should make good use of the current historical coincidences and harmony. We have to work hard aware of the fact that time is not on the side of a settlement and we should reach an agreement as soon as possible. We have to succeed in this as it may be too late tomorrow.

I would like to welcome you all keeping in mind that a solution to the Cyprus problem will be our common achievement. I also would like to thank you for sparing your time for this important occasion

[halil]

Speech by President Christofias at a joint event of the CCCI and the Turkish chamber of Industry

“My vision for the future of Cyprus is a common homeland, where all Cypriot children will be born equal and the right of all our compatriots to a respectable life will be respected”, the President of the Republic Mr Demetris Christofias stated, adding that his proposal is for a united federal Cyprus state that is close its citizens, a state with a conscious social role, a state by all Cypriots for all Cypriots. Speaking last night at a joint event of the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Industry, in which the Turkish Cypriot leader Mr Talat also spoke, President Christofias said that “all the businesspeople are our natural allies in the effort to construct a unified Cyprus economy, where everybody will enjoy the same rights in work, salary, pension and social security. The businesspeople understand better than anybody else that there should be no unnatural artificial limitations to movement and personal opportunities”. Referring to his talks with Mr Talat, the President said that in the 25 weekly meetings they had, convergence was achieved on some issues although there were still differences on many basic issues. “There are still important aspects of the problem that we have not touched upon,” he said and added: “To be honest, we have established that there is a difference of philosophy in our approach. My emphasis is on a functional federated state with fundamental proficiencies, which we will exercise jointly. This is essential in order to be able to fulfill our international obligations and especially to be able to participate and to contribute in the collective effort of the European family. The central state should be able to safeguard the unity of the country, by exercising the necessary competencies that all states have, including the federal ones, in the sectors of foreign policy, citizenship, control over the national sources of wealth and, as I have already mentioned, over the social political integration and solidarity of our population groups. -


Referring to his talks with Mr Talat, the President said that in the 25 weekly meetings they had, convergence was achieved on some issues although there were still differences on many basic issues. “There are still important aspects of the problem that we have not touched upon,” he said and added: “To be honest, we have established that there is a difference of philosophy in our approach. My emphasis is on a functional federated state with fundamental proficiencies, which we will exercise jointly. This is essential in order to be able to fulfill our international obligations and especially to be able to participate and to contribute in the collective effort of the European family. The central state should be able to safeguard the unity of the country, by exercising the necessary competencies that all states have, including the federal ones, in the sectors of foreign policy, citizenship, control over the national sources of wealth and, as I have already mentioned, over the social political integration and solidarity of our population groups.

Referring to Turkey’s EU accession course, he reiterated that the Cyprus Government supports with consistency Turkey’s prospect to become full member of the European Union. “Cyprus acknowledges the benefits, for our region and for Cyprus, from a lasting peaceful cooperation in all fields between Cyprus Turkey and Greece” he said stressing, however that “the accession can not be ‘a la carte’. “Turkey has obligations towards the European Union. It also has bilateral obligations towards the Republic of Cyprus that it must also fulfill,” he concluded.

http://www.cyprus.gov.cy/moi/pio/pio.ns ... n/index_en
18.03.2009