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Erdogan vows effort

Pledging to work in sincerity for solution in the island, the PM says Turkey does not want to sacrifice its EU process over Turkish Cypriot-Greek Cypriot dispute

ANKARA – Turkish Daily News

The government pledged yesterday to work for a settlement in Cyprus and said the aspects of a collapsed U.N. blueprint for reunification of the island could be revised if both Cypriot sides agreed.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s plan aimed at creating a loose federation of Turkish and Greek Cypriots was put to referenda on both sides of the island in April and collapsed after it was rejected by Greek Cypriots.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the plan was officially not on the table, as it was rejected in one of the referenda. “But the Annan plan can be revised. It can be brought to the table again in a form agreed upon by both sides,” Erdoğan told a gathering of Turkish businessmen in Ankara.

Not only an overwhelming majority of Greek Cypriots but also Turkish Cypriot President Rauf Denktaş opposed the Annan plan, although a majority of Turkish Cypriots voted in favor.
Erdoğan pledged sincere effort to erase “prejudices” regarding the plan on both sides and added: “We have to take steps to make Cyprus an island of peace. We will work with sincerity, we will overcome this problem.”

EU leaders agreed to open accession talks with Turkey on Oct. 3, 2005 at a summit on Dec. 16-17 in Brussels after a dispute over recognition of the Greek Cypriot administration, which is now a member of the EU, was resolved after Erdoğan gave EU leaders assurances that Turkey would sign a protocol extending its 1963 Association Agreement to the ten new members, including Greek Cyprus, before the start of talks.

Turkey insists this will not amount to diplomatic recognition of the Greek Cypriot administration, which it says can come only as part of a broad peace settlement in Cyprus.
Therefore, Ankara seeks resumption of reunification talks between Turkish and Greek Cypriot sides so that a settlement could be found on the island, preferably before the start of accession talks.
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül was quoted as telling a closed-door meeting of parliamentarians that the government would work for a solution by Oct. 3 but officials said he did not make the comment attributed to him, emphasizing that Turkey sees the EU accession and Cyprus issue as separate processes. Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos has said he might still veto the start of EU accession talks with Turkey if Ankara failed to sign the protocol.
“We will decide on Cyprus within a process of negotiations with the European Commission,” said Erdoğan.

Sacrificing EU to Cyprus

The prime minister said Turkey’s aim would be a “compromise” solution, not “to defeat Greek Cypriots.”
“We will display the same positive attitude we showed in the run up to April 24 referendum,” he said, emphasizing that tension between the Cypriot sides must be avoided.

“We do not want to sacrifice the EU process to such tension,” he said.
Erdoğan also criticized the EU for its handling of the Cyprus issue, complaining particularly about the small size of the pledged EU assistance to help revive the Turkish Cypriot economy.
“The EU saying ‘let’s give six million euros to Turkish Cypriots’ is comparable to treatment of a begger,” he said.
The EU has pledged to reach out to Turkish Cypriots after they voted in support of the U.N. plan in the April 24 referendum by enabling direct trade and providing a financial assistance package. But the measures have not been put into force due to problems in the approval stage.