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Erdogan: We'll Never Open Ports Unless Isolation Ends
By Foreign News Desk, Istanbul
Published: Wednesday, March 22, 2006
zaman.com
Europe was sent an unwavering message by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as tensions mount between Turkey and the European Union over the Cyprus problem.
Unless sanctions against the Turks in Cyprus are lifted, the Turkish government will not concede to the Greek administration in South Cyprus and give them permission to use Turkish air and sea ports.
“We will not do this at any cost,” said Turkey’s prime minister when he pleaded with Union countries to deliver their promises about Cyprus.
Erdogan was asked to comment on plans to enforce the Supplementary Protocol of the Customs Union in a way that would cover the administration in South Cyprus as well, in an interview to Profil, a weekly magazine in Austria.
“We earlier said that the parliament would not pass the Supplementary Protocol as long as the Turkish administration in Cyprus was not relieved of the isolation imposed on it. We remain resolutely opposed to the Supplementary Protocol under these circumstances,” Erdogan repeated.
After Erdogan’s interview, Dora Bakoyanni, the Foreign Minister of Greece, said Turkey has to fulfill the responsibilities that it took upon itself in 2006.
An envoy of the Organization of Islamic Conference, or OIC, in the Turkish administration of Cyprus met with Sabit Sayar, the prime minister there.
The meeting was an occasion for talks mainly over items discussed in the last gathering of the OIC foreign ministers, said Atta Avmannan, head of the envoy, but there was also an exchange of opinions to discover possible ways to initiate future cooperation with the Turkish administration in the fields of culture, trade, economics, and sport.
PAul
