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SERDAR DENKTAS: "IF PAPADOPOULOS CONTINUES HIS CURRENT STANCE IN
NEGOTIATIONS, TURKISH CYPRIOTS WILL FOLLOW THEIR OWN PATH"
The TRNC Deputy
Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Serdar Denktas, referring
to Greek Cypriot Leader, Tassos Papadopoulos', statement that he would veto
Turkey's EU membership unless the political recognition of the Greek Cypriot
side by Turkey was secured with the Ankara Agreement, said, mutual
recognition of the two administrations in Cyprus could only be possible if a
settlement was achieved. Explaining that Papadopoulos shouldn't expect
anything other than this, Serdar Denktas said if Papadopoulos continued to
adopt his current stance in the forthcoming negotiations and once more
rejected the Turkish Cypriot peoples' political equality, the Turkish
Cypriot people would follow their own path.
Minister
Denktas said, in this situation, the Turkish Cypriot side would leave the
negotiating table after integrating with the world, being totally freed from
the isolation and uncertainty that they have endured for all these years. He
said Papadopoulos should re-evaluate his current policies and stance.
Pointing out
that since the opening of the border gates the Greek Cypriot side had to be
ready for dialogue in order to overcome the problems that could arise,
Serdar Denktas said the Greek Cypriot side's intransigent stance was
preventing relations between the two sides from further developing.
Indicating that
the only way a Cyprus settlement could be achieved was if the two sides sat
down at the negotiating table with the same intention, Serdar Denktas said
for this to happen, steps should be taken by the world and in particular the
UN Secretary-General and the EU, to motivate the Greek Cypriot side towards
reaching a settlement.
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