Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat on speaking to the Anatolian News Agency correspondent referring to the remark made by Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos to the effect that he didn't believe a settlement would be possible before 3 October, the date when Turkey will commence EU accession talks, said the Turkish Cypriot side was ready for negotiations and a settlement before 3 October.

Explaining that Papadopoulos request "for the withdrawal of 30.000 Turkish troops" was a request to "return to the pre-1974 period", Prime Minister Talat said this request was a fantasy and very distant from the Cyprus realities.

Prime Minister Talat said: "The Turkish Cypriot side is ready for a settlement and ready to show all kinds of flexibility for this, but that this welfare will lead to a solution that will protect the security and basic human rights of the Turkish Cypriot people, this is our aim. Our invitation to the UN Secretary General to increase his interest in the Cyprus issue is still valid. Papadopoulos with his remark that he doesn't believe a settlement is possible before 3 October has in fact displayed his true intention. He doesn't want a settlement until 3 October and it's not clear whether or not he wants a settlement afterwards".

Also indicating that a settlement could not be achieved with the will of only one side, Prime Minister Talat said if Papadopoulos was saying that there would be no settlement then it meant that he didn't want a settlement, whereas the Turkish Cypriot side had openly displayed his desire for a settlement. Pointing out that the Greek Cypriot side should submit to the UN Secretary General its requested changes on the Annan Plan as soon as possible, the Prime Minister said these changes should be submitted as soon as possible so that the negotiations could resume. He added that the Turkish Cypriot side was ready for negotiations.

Referring to Papadopoulos' remark that as a gesture Turkey should withdraw its troops from the island and that this was in fact a request to return to the pre-1974 period, Prime Minister Talat said the Greek Cypriot side viewed the Cyprus issue as one of "invasion", did not want to share power with the Turkish Cypriots, wanted the Turkish troops to withdraw from the island so that it could expand its sovereignty over the whole of the island. He added that this approach was one that made an incorrect diagnosis of the Cyprus issue.

Meanwhile, speaking to the NTV television channel about the rumours that the Greek Cypriot Administration was going to conscript Turkish Cypriots possessing a 'Cyprus Republic' identity card into the Greek Cypriot army, President Talat said serving in the Greek Cypriot army had nothing to do with identity cards and even if Turkish Cypriots had obtained identity cards from the Greek Cypriot Administration this did not mean that they had given up their own Turkish Cypriot identity cards.

Continuing, President Talat said: "I have received some information on this issue. It's not logical and scrupulous to make the Turkish Cypriots fight with one another. Turkish Cypriots will continue to serve the Turkish Cypriots."

Prime Minister Ferdi Sabit Soyer yesterday (5 May) received the Turkish Ambassador to Lefkosa, Aydan Karahan and referring to the cases that were being filed against those persons who were using Greek Cypriot properties in the TRNC, pointing out that in consultation with the President they identified a policy on this issue that was also supported by the government, said the Turkish Cypriot side would not give way to Papadopoulos' domination approach.

Prime Minister Soyer said: "We will definitely oppose Papadopoulos' domination approach and continue in our struggle, including the legal struggle, to once more prove to the whole world that Papadopoulos has no sovereign rights over North Cyprus. We must not panic, we need to stand firm and determined on this issue".

Meanwhile, President Talat pointing out that the Cyprus issue and the property issue was a political problem that would be resolved through political methods, said the Turkish Cypriot side was making preparations against the property cases that were being filed by the Greek Cypriot side against the Turkish Cypriots and the people should not panic.

President Talat said the UN had also taken on a duty to settle this issue and therefore, it was known by the whole world that the Cyprus issue could not be settled through legal means. He said the Greek Cypriot courts had no jurisdiction in the North, therefore the issue was a political issue that would be resolved politically. The Prime Minister said if there were some legal problems after a political settlement these would be settled by the authorized courts and therefore, cases of individual Greek Cypriot harassment would be solved by the TRNC's legal measures.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Serdar Denktas speaking at a conference entitled "Cyprus in Light of the Latest Developments", that was organized by the 4^th International Relations Congress of the Ege University in Izmir, stated that the reason why the Cyprus issue was still not settled was because it had not been properly diagnosed by the international community.

Explaining that: "A settlement is not possible without a proper diagnosis and if the political and economic imbalances that exist between the two sides is not eliminated. A settlement will be possible if the international community treats equally the two sides in Cyprus", Serdar Denktas stressed that there were two politically equal peoples in Cyprus that each had the right to self determination and a settlement to be found should be based on these parameters.

Continuing, Minister Denktas said: "It is not possible to achieve a Cyprus settlement while on the one hand there is the Greek Cypriot side which is an EU member and recognized by the international community and powerful countries who are waiting to gain from a Cyprus settlement, while on the other hand there is the Turkish Cypriot side who have not been given the rights that were granted to them in international agreements and are suffering under the unjust embargoes imposed upon them".

Stressing that the Turkish forces would not withdraw from the island unless there was a comprehensive settlement that protected the political equal rights of the Turkish Cypriots, Minister Denktas said the presence of the Turkish forces on the island was one of the most important elements in forcing the Greek Cypriots to reach an agreement based on the principles of bizonality and political equality.