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INDIRECT
NEGOTIATIONS START
Following
the cancellation of yesterday’s (March 15) meeting between TRNC President
Rauf Denktas and Greek Cypriot leader, Tassos Papadopoulos, indirect
negotiations between the two sides started yesterday (March 15).
Yesterday,
the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative to Cyprus, Alvaro de
Soto, met separately with the two leaders and pointing out that the give and
take process had not yet started, said before moving on to the next stage of
the negotiation process he hoped that satisfactory progress would be
achieved in overcoming the problems that existed between the two sides.
Meanwhile,
prior to the start of the four-party negotiations between Greece, Turkey and
the Greek and Turkish Cypriot sides, President Denktas and Prime Minister
Mehmet Ali Talat will go to Ankara on March 21 and attend the Cyprus Summit
Meeting at the Cankaya Presidential Palace on March 22.
PRESIDENT
DENTKAS: “NEGOTIATIONS WILL CONTINUE AS INDIRECT NEGOTIATIONS”
President
Denktas yesterday (March 15) received the “National Solidarity Council”,
and speaking during the meeting, reminding that following the completion of
the Cyprus negotiation process on March 22, it was envisaged to start the
four-party (Turkey, Greece and the Greek and Turkish Cypriot sides)
negotiations, said, after March 22 he would evaluate the situation with
Ankara and see if it was possible for Turkey and Greece to settle the issue
amongst themselves.
Pointing
out that if the outcome of the referendum was a ‘no’ vote, the TRNC would
still continue because since the EU wanted the whole of Cyprus it would
continue its contacts with the Turkish Cypriot side or the Turkish Cypriot
side would initiate contacts with the EU, President Denktas said: “It will
be possible to enter the EU together with Turkey instead of hastily taking
the wrong step. It is better to be patient and act cautiously. This depends
on the determination of Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot people”.
Pointing
out that the new Cyprus flag was not the flag of the Turkish Cypriot people
but the flag of the United Cyprus Republic, the President said this
shouldn’t have been announced until it was agreed. He said: “Our flag is
both a Turkish flag and a flag of our state. There is no reason for us to
change it”.
Explaining
that it looked as if the Cyprus negotiations, which started on February 19,
would continue as indirect negotiations, President Denktas said De Soto
would be carrying out shuttle diplomacy to reduce the gap between the two
sides and if necessary there might even be face-to-face negotiations.
TURKISH
AND EU LAWYERS GET TOGETHER TO DISCUSS DEROGATIONS
Turkish
and EU lawyers yesterday (March 15) got together in Ankara to discuss the
issue of derogations, which presents one of the most important problems in
the Cyprus negotiation process.
On
behalf of the European Commission, lawyers Pierre Mirel Jörn Sack and
Leopold Maurer arrived in Ankara on March 14 and met with the Turkish
delegation, which includes Ambassador Deniz Bolukbasi, Ambassador Ertugrul
Apakan, President Rauf Denktas’ Adviser on Constitutional Affairs, Mumtaz
Soysal and the President of the Human Rights Consultancy Council Ibrahim
Kabaoglu.
The
lawyers agreed to have this meeting at the EU Troika Meeting, which took
place in Ankara last week. During the EU Troika Meeting, although issues
such as Turkey’s EU process were evaluated, European officials were unable
to present Turkey with a satisfactory
formula on the issue of derogations.
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