Talat meets with UN Secretary-General

Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat met in Berlin on 15 July with the UN Secretary-General Ban-Ki moon. In statements after the meeting, Mr Talat said that the UN Secretary General is satisfied with the way things are going, “just like us”. He added: “I hope and believe that most probably we will launch the comprehensive negotiations. We discussed these”. Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris reports that Mr Talat said that the UNSG heard his views and noted that they are positive. “Most probably the views of Christofias were also positive”, said Mr Talat. He said the fact that the UN Secretary-General has appointed a special advisor. “also shows that he sees that things are heading for a solution”, he added. Asked about his expectations from the European countries and especially from the German government, Mr Talat said that he did not hold any contact with the German government and added that his visit to Berlin was only in order to meet with the UN Secretary-General. “Of course we have expectations from the EU. Our expectation is to provide us technical support and furthermore, to encourage the Greek Cypriot side on the issue of the solution. Of course, you know that it is not possible for the EU to play a directly impartial role as long as the Greek Cypriot administration is its member and as long as Greece supports it unconditionally”. Responding to a question on whether the Annan Plan will be taken as basis of the negotiations in the future, Mr Talat noted: “The solution of this problem has been left by the UN to the two sides in Cyprus. Of course in the end there is the accumulated work of the UN. We are carrying out a negotiation taking into consideration this accumulated work. In this, naturally, there is the Annan Plan as well from our point of view. No one can deny the Annan Plan, but if you are asking me whether we are discussing the Annan Plan, the answer is no”.

Ankara Anatolia news agency has reported that Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday: “Cyprus is one of the priorities of Turkish foreign policy. We are determined to support a constructive approach for peace in the island. We will be in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) this coming weekend with a large delegation. We will attend inauguration of new facilities and join in the celebrations of the TRNC