by halil » Sat Dec 12, 2009 11:00 pm
TALAT DESCRIBES REASON FOR GREEK CYPRIOT OBJECTION TO HOLD QUINTET SUMMIT AS IRRATIONAL
TRNC President Mehmet Ali Talat has said that he has difficulty understanding the reason cited by the Greek Cypriot Side for its rejection to hold a quintet meeting on the Cyprus Problem.
Speaking on a program on Bayrak Television first channel last night, the President said that the Greek Cypriot Side’s objections to holding such a summit were irrational.
He said that a quintet meeting which would include the two sides in Cyprus as well as the three guarantor powers, Turkey, Greece and Britain, would still be held within the framework of the UN Secretary General’s Good Offices Mission.
“Such a meeting would in no way downgrade the status of the so-called Republic of Cyprus nor would it upgrade the status of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” he said.
The President also said that the reasons of objection cited by the Greek Cypriot Side were utter rubbish because he and the Greek Cypriot leader were not conducting the ongoing negotiations as Presidents of two states but as heads of their respective communities.
Underlining the importance of the intensified series of meetings at their private residences that will be held in January, the President said that it was necessary to achieve progress in the talks in the first months of next year so as to prevent the negotiations from being used as a propaganda material in the upcoming presidential elections.
Criticizing the Greek Cypriot leader Demetris Christofias for constantly urging him to be flexible, President Talat said what the Greek Cypriot leader really wanted, was for the Turkish Side to surrender.
“A settlement is still possible but chances for a solution are increasingly diminishing, The Greek Cypriot Side is deliberately delaying a solution and playing for time” Talat added.
Touching upon the conclusions of the EU Summit, Talat described the outcome as neutral and balanced.
He said that the reason why the EU failed to impose sanctions on Turkey was because it was pursuing the right policies.
The TRNC President also described the European Union’s decision to set a date for Turkey’s EU accession before the end of 2010 as a mistake as it would encourage the Greek Cypriot Side to drag its feet on the Cyprus Problem.