As world peace day is being marked, TRNC President Mehmet Ali Talat and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu have said that the Turkish Side would do its best to bring peace to the whole island.
Speaking at a joint press conference in North Nicosia, President Talat said there was a golden opportunity to settle the Cyprus problem, warning that the talks cannot be continued forever.
For his part, Turkish Foreign Minister reiterated Ankara’s support to the continuing peace talks.
In a message to the TRNC People, Mr Davutoğlu said “Turkey will always be by the side of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus”.
The first to speak at the press conference was President Mehmet Ali Talat who said that the Turkish Side was determined to maintain a flexible approach in the second round of the talks which will start on Thursday.
The President explained that the Turkish Side had done its best to bring about a solution to the Cyprus problem within the framework of the UN parameters and brought proposals within this framework to fulfill its responsibilities.
He noted that the solution of the Cyprus problem was a priority for the TRNC people.
Reminding that an agreement to be reached between the two sides would be put to a referendum on both sides of the island, the President said “we are preparing our people for a solution but the Greek Cypriot Administration should do the same”.
“We have a golden opportunity. But the process will not last forever”, he said, adding that the process should be speeded up if we didn’t want the non-solution to become permanent.
In his speech, he also thanked the visiting Foreign Minister for his country’s support to the TRNC People who he said, was ready for a solution.
“Turkey’s support is very important for us. If we don’t have this support, we stay alone” he noted.
For his part, Turkish Foreign Minister Davutoğlu said that his visit to the TRNC had two important aspects, the first being symbolic as it had demonstrated Turkey’s support towards reaching a settlement on World Peace Day and the second to evaluate the ongoing process.
Mr Davutoğlu said that Turkey wanted peace not only in Cyprus but in the whole Mediterranean region.
In a message to the Turkish Cypriot people, the Turkish Foreign Minister reminded that the people of the TRNC had demonstrated its will towards a settlement and changed the international community’s perception towards the Cyprus Problem.
In his second message, the Turkish Foreign Minister called on the Greek Cypriot people to support ongoing efforts to reach a settlement and to reunify the island.
Calling on the Greek Cypriot people to make use of the chance for a settlement which they rejected in 2004, he said that attempts to achieve political gains by asserting pressure on Turkey through its EU membership would not yield any results.
The Turkish Foreign Minister’s third message was to the European Union in which he called on the bloc to adopt a more objective and just stance towards a settlement.
Reminding that the Turkish Cypriot people continue to suffer under international embargoes despite having voted in favor of the UN-sponsored plan in 2004, he said the EU should not allow the Cyprus Problem to threaten its own interests.
He said that the Cyprus Problem continued to pose a major obstacle for a large number of issues and projects within the EU, and the continuation of the international isolation of the TRNC people was inexcusable.
In another message, Davutoglu called on the international community, particularly the UN to take on a more active role in order to speed up the process.
Turning to President Mehmet Ali Talat, the Turkish Foreign Minister said that that the whole Turkish nation was by the side of the Turkish Cypriot People.
