Commenting on the new Cyprus talks, that will resume tomorrow (February 19), TRNC President Rauf Denktas, said the Turkish Cypriot side would try to ensure that changes were made on their basic requirements, such as bizonality and the issue of guarantees, and if this could be achieved the Turkish Cypriots would be in a much better position than they were currently in. However, if this could not be achieved, he added, the Turkish Cypriots would be in a far worse position.

Speaking to the Turkish NTV correspondent, President Denktas, pointing out that as a result of international pressure, the two sides on the island agreed to enter a new negotiation process, said, the door was open for changes to be made but, achieving progress depended on the two sides.

Pointing out that if the Annan Plan could be amended to include the Turkish Cypriot side’s basic requirements, it could be brought to a viable position, the President said: "Now, we will live this experience and look at it with good will. However, whether we succeed or not depends on the Greek Cypriot side’s stance. They also want changes and in a very short time there is the difficulty of bringing everything to an acceptable level".

Explaining that they went to New York by clearly defining their basic requirements, the President responding to a question asked if Annan would have the last word, said: "If Turkey and Greece do not agree then it could be concluded that Annan will have the last word. However, in practice, in the face of Turkey’s determined objections and knowing that this will not be accepted it is impossible to think that Annan will put forward an inflexible formula. As he has always done, Annan should display an approach that is acceptable to the two sides".

On the issue of the referendum, President Denktas said by taking into consideration the changes to be made to the Annan Plan, the Turkish Cypriot side would go to a referendum and everyone should respect the outcome. He said it would then be discussed in the Turkish Parliament, where it would either be approved or rejected. "If it is rejected, then everything will come to a halt", he added.

Pointing out that the Greek Cypriot side requested a written response from the UN Secretary-General that the agreement to be reached should be in conformity with EU norms, President Denktas said: "We insist that the derogations to be reached in the final agreement should become primary law within EU norms. Otherwise, rights granted to us will be invalid and eliminated within a short time. It is extremely risky and dangerous to go to a referendum without receiving a positive response on this issue from the EU".

Talking about the New York talks, the President, pointing out that Turkey and Greece’s involvement in the negotiations was always on his agenda, said: "We believe that the Cyprus issue can not be solved unless Greece and Turkey are involved in the process and until Greece shows that she has given up her dream of making Cyprus a Hellenic island. On several occasions, Turkey proposed that negotiations take place among the four parties (Turkey, Greece, Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots), but Greece constantly ran away from this. This was taken into consideration when we proposed that the two motherlands become involved in the process. When an alternative was requested in New York, this is what we proposed and what was also approved by Turkey".

While preparations for resuming the Cyprus negotiations, which will start tomorrow (February 19) in Lefkosa, under the auspices of Alvaro de Soto, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative to Cyprus, are under way, President Denktas stated that the Turkish Cypriot side was engaged in intense preparations.

Speaking to the Cyprus Turkish News Agency (TAK), President Denktas said, the shape of the negotiations, its agenda and the team would be finalized in tomorrow’s meeting with Alvaro de Soto at 16:00.

President Denktas said: "We are carrying out our preparations. The Turkish Cypriot people should know that we are engaging in studies that foresee making the necessary changes to the Annan Plan, which would protect our rights. Whether we are successful or not will be determined at the end of these meetings. We will constantly inform our people of the developments".

The three technical committees that will be formed in the first stage and which will start to work tomorrow will deal with international agreements, federal laws and economic - financial issues. In addition to these three committees, at the end of February a fourth committee will be formed which will deal with the flag and national anthem.

Meanwhile, Alvaro de Soto, who will lead the new Cyprus talks, arrived on the island last night (February 17).