Turkish statements annoy Greeks

President Christofias has repeated that the government aims to achieve a solution by Cypriots, for Cypriots and added that their policy consisted of initiatives towards the international community to influence Turkey to modify its stance in order to enable such a solution. He was speaking at an event to mark International Workers’ Day, organised by PEO. He added, however, that unfortunately the messages coming from the Turkish side were not encouraging. The Turkish National Security Council and Mr Talat continue to claim that the solution should culminate into two, separate and politically equal states, he said noting that these positions went even beyond those of the Annan plan.“They insist that the Annan plan is the basis for negotiation. The repetition of these positions both by the Turkish National Security Council and by Mr Talat is regretful and cause concern. Mr Talat has the right to put elements of the Annan plan on the table. At the same time though, the Greek Cypriot side has the right to also put on the negotiating table its own positions and views on substantive aspects of the Cyprus issue”, he said.

Talat had said last week during his recent visit to Turkey that the negotiations on the Cyprus problem due to begin in late June are the last chance for a solution in Cyprus. He stressed that his government wants to find a solution to the Cyprus problem and “will do whatever is necessary for a solution and remain optimistic”.

"Once the negotiations begin in late June (…) it would not be possible for either side to leave the negotiating table as this is really the last chance for a solution," Talat said. "Our general approach is to establish an entity based on two founding states in which the two peoples are politically equal. The partnership state will function with the equal participation of Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots. This state will be functional via a 'virgin birth' method," Talat said. "We will continue working with good will and intention. We hope that we will succeed. If we do become successful, this would eradicate the uncertainty in the future of Turkish Cypriots, eradicate the concerns and fears of the Greek Cypriots and end Turkey’s Cyprus problems in its relations with the European Union and the world in general," he added. "

If we cannot find a solution to the Cyprus problem by 2012, when the Greek Cypriot administration assumes the EU's rotating presidency, we can conclude that a solution in the island is not possible. At that time, the international community will need to re-evaluate the realities," he concluded. On another occasion Talat also said he was still in favour of the Annan Plan since it had been approved by the Turkish Cypriots with a 65% majority, and that it would be normal to bring it back to the negotiating table.“However, I have never said that we have been negotiating the Annan Plan. What I want is to negotiate a plan which will be mutually acceptable”, Talat stressed.

During his Ankara visit, Talat met Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish Foreign Minister and Chief EU negotiator Ali Babacan, and President Abdullah Gul.According to Turkish Cypriot press, the visit was to work out a strategy for the upcoming Cyprus talks.

According to the Turkish press, the Turkish National Security Council last week convened and put forward their position on a solution of the Cyprus problem.

The text of the decision which was handed to Talat during his visit to Turkey last week is reported as saying: “The new procedure of 21 March 2008 which started in Cyprus was discussed in detail. Within this framework, it was stressed that Turkey sincerely supports the efforts for reaching a just and lasting solution in Cyprus, that the solution will be based on the realities in the island, the existence of two separate peoples and two separate democracies, that it is essential for the bi-zonality, the political equality of the two sides, the equal status of the two founding states and the parameters of the new partnership state to be preserved and that the Treaties of Guarantee and Alliance will remain valid”.

The Cyprus government criticised the statements by Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat’s regarding a two state solution and ‘the virgin birth’ of a new state, saying these were unproductive and unconstructive. Government Spokesman Stephanos Stephano said such statements do not lead to optimism that the process that has begun at the level of working groups and technical committees will bear results to allow fully-fledged negotiations on the Cyprus question.

He said that the Greek Cypriot side’s position on a settlement was clear: an end to the occupation, the illegal settling in the occupied areas, and reunification under the framework of a bizonal, bicommunal federation, within which a political equality would be established as described by the UN relevant resolutions.He also said that the Greek Cypriot side wanted a solution that would safeguard the human rights and the fundamental freedoms of all the people.
“Pursuing a settlement based on other positions and beyond the Annan plan, as is the position for two states and ‘the virgin birth’ of a new state, does not help the whole process to move forward,” he said.Asked about the Cyprus government’s position on settlers, the government spokesman said that on principle a solution had to terminate the colonisation of the north of the island and that settlers had to leave the island. He noted however that for humanitarian reasons a number of settlers would remain on the island.

Presidential Commissioner George Iacovou said yesterday that the first week of meetings of the working groups and technical committees went smoothly and in a good atmosphere. Iacovou, who is the coordinator of the Greek Cypriot members of the working groups and technical committees, said the working groups had already entered substantive aspects of the Cyprus problem, such as the constitutional court and the authorities of the federal government.He said he would be meeting with Ozdil Nami, adviser to Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat and coordinator of the Turkish Cypriot members, next week as well as with Acting Special Representative of the UN Secretary General in Cyprus Elizabeth Spehar, who will be departing from the island at the end of next week.

He said efforts would continue to find common ground which would then be presented to the leaders of the two communities. “We are not dealing with the Annan plan or any other plan, we are trying to produce ideas which are our own and which basically meet the need to find common ground.”

Moreover, Talat was reported as saying on Tuesday that if the working groups and technical committees continue with the good work achieved so far, negotiations could start in June as planned. He added that it was also possible that more working groups and technical committees could be created as the two sides got closer to a settlement.

He also complained that the media was creating its own scenario on the latest developments in Cyprus and was misinforming the public about what was really happening. “We must be careful when taking the process forward. My hope is that manipulative news reports, especially those coming from the Greek Cypriot side, are not taken seriously” he said. Warning that the political atmosphere on the island could grow tense when full-fledged negotiations start, Talat said that both sides could choose not to make statements. He said that the working groups and technical committees will be presenting the two sides with two separate reports regarding the areas they have reached convergence on, once they complete their work. These reports will be taken into account during the negotiations to reach agreement on the issues the committees failed to agree upon.

Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris reported that the Turkish Cypriot spokesman Hasan Ercakica has said that the water shortage issue was put on the negotiating table by the Turkish Cypriot technical committee and that the suggestion that water be brought over from Turkey and distributed throughout Cyprus was taken up by the technical committees. Ercakica said: “We don’t see any danger in sharing the water to be brought from Turkey. Just the opposite we see benefit in it”. He also said that the Turkish Cypriot side favours continuation of the 1960 Guarantee System and that “virgin birth” issue is a technical issue that could be debated. He added that the Greek Cypriot side through its statements on the matter was trying to fix the ground for the negotiations.