Speaking on the Turkish NTV channel, TRNC Prime Minister, Mehmet Ali Talat, evaluating the latest developments on the Cyprus issue said following the completion of the New York talks a positive point had been reached.

Prime Minister Talat pointing out that settling the Cyprus issue by May 2004 was very important for the Turkish Cypriots and Turkey, said having a referendum on settling the Cyprus issue was very important and preparations were under way for the referendum. He said: "We must succeed".

Explaining that he believed a conclusion could be reached by protecting the rights of the Turkish Cypriot people and making some changes to the Annan Plan, the Prime Minister said, by securing the support of the EU, UN and USA the Turkish Cypriot side would find the opportunity to change issues of vital importance and give it a new shape. He said this would be the government’s primary duty.

Stressing that the rightful requests of the Turkish Cypriot side could not be prevented even if the Greek Cypriots became an EU member, Prime Minister Talat said life would not be easy for the Greek Cypriots if they were intransigent because they would hand over the Turkish Cypriots rights.

Explaining that the Turkish Cypriot side was now in a positive position, Prime Minister Talat said: "Since we are at this point, we should look towards and be prepared for the future; a new united Cyprus will be established and become an EU member".

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Serdar Denktas, participating on NTV’s "Anahtar" programme, evaluated the latest developments on the Cyprus issue.

Stressing that it was wrong to evaluate the conclusion of the New Yorks talks as a ‘victory’, Serdar Denktas said, both sides gained some benefits from the concluding statement and a similar conclusion would be reached at the end of the negotiation process, which will begin on Thursday (February 19). He said during this process, which will end with a referendum, there was no return and the two peoples on the island would have the last word in the referendum.

Stressing that during the New York talks the Turkish Cypriot side sat at the negotiating table with the aim of starting the negotiations, whereas the Greek Cypriot side had the intention of provoking the Turkish Cypriot side to leave the negotiating table, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Serdar Denktas, said, however, the Turkish Cypriot side did not come to this point.

Referring to the new negotiation process that will start on February 19, Serdar Denktas, said the issues to be discussed first will be determined after the arrival of Alvaro de Soto, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Cyprus, to the island and the delegation leading the political negotiations and the technical committees will work in parallel.

Stressing the importance of the concluding text to emerge at the end of the negotiations becoming a primary law within EU norms, Serdar Denktas said the Secretary-General would decide this.

Referring to the possibility that the negotiations could be extended and to Greek Cypriot concerns that there should be no referendum on issues which the two sides do not agree on, Serdar Denktas said an exact date for the referendum could not be given but, it would definitely be before May 1.

Listing the basic requirements of the Turkish Cypriot side as "the acceptance of the sovereign equality of the two sides, further strengthening the principle of bizonality and the continuation of Turkey’s guarantee even after Turkey’s EU membership", he said, settling the complicated property issue was also very important for the Turkish Cypriot side.

Referring to the referendum he added that if the Turkish Cypriot side said ‘no’, then next time a better plan than the Annan Plan would have to be presented to them, if the Greek Cypriot side said ‘no’, the embargoes imposed upon the Turkish Cypriot side would be lifted, and if the two sides said ‘yes’, then there would be a settlement.

The negotiation process will resume in Cyprus this Thursday (February 19) at the UN controlled Nicosia International Airport following the two sides agreeing at the New York summit meeting, which was carried out under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, and where the procedure and timetable for the new negotiation process was decided on.

The two sides will meet three times a week and the technical committees will meet every day. A UN delegation of approximately 20 people, which also includes legal experts, will be on hand during the negotiations.