Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Serdar Denktas stated that it looked as if it would be impossible to reach a joint settlement with the Greek Cypriot administration.

Speaking at a panel entitled "Turkey - EU Relations and Cyprus" organized at the Gazi University in Turkey, Serdar Denktas said the Greek Cypriot side, who had rejected the Annan Plan, was not displaying a stance in favour of reaching a joint settlement and that the stance displayed by the international community up until today was not one that encouraged a joint settlement.

He said as well as being pessimistic, the joint efforts would continue for a while but this wouldn't be forever.

Indicating that the Turkish Cypriot people's EU perspective was being unfairly taken away from them, he said it was also unfair that Turkey's EU membership process was being linked to the Cyprus problem.

Expressing that there was an incorrect assumption in EU public opinion that "Turkey would give all kinds of concessions for EU membership" and because of this there were many requests even including recognition of the Greek Cypriot side, Serdar Denktas said: "If Turkey recognized the Greek Cypriot administration as the Republic of Cyprus this would mean that Turkey would violate the international agreement it signed".

Continuing, he said the Turkish Cypriot side would continue to take steps until February 2008 and after this date it would determine its own future and acknowledge to live as a separate state and EU neighbour.

Responding to a question asked, Serdar Denktas said the Annan Plan was no longer on the agenda and it was out of the question to accept a proposal that envisaged more concessions being made.