President Mehmet Ali Talat received the European Parliament’s Rapporteur on Turkey, the Danish Euro-MP Camiel Eurlings on 23 September, who came to the island with the aim of preparing a report regarding the additional protocol to Turkey’s Customs Union Protocol to comprise 10 new EU members.

Speaking after the meeting President Talat stated that he has reiterated the Turkish Cypriot people’s determination to work for a solution to the Cyprus problem and help achieve a reunified Cyprus under UN framework. President Talat said: "We are ready for the resumption of the talks. We are waiting for a positive response from the Greek Cypriot side towards this direction".

Referring to Turkish Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul’s proposal for lifting all the restrictions, President Talat explained that in the event of Turkey opening her ports to Greek Cypriot side, all the embargoes imposed upon the TRNC should also be lifted and that he and Mr. Eurlings had agreed on this point.

Reminding that the EU had made a statement on 26 April 2004 promising to end the isolations imposed upon the Turkish Cypriots and to implement the direct trade and financial aid regulations, President Talat said they were expecting these promises to be kept.

Also speaking after the meeting, Mr. Eurlings stressing it was the Greek Cypriot side who rejected the Annan plan and not by the Turkish Cypriot side, said the continuing punishment of the Turkish Cypriot was meaningless. He said the EU should look into ways to make the necessary aid to North Cyprus.

Camiel Eurlings added that the EU should make pressure for the resumption of the negotiations under UN auspices and that as an MEP he would do his best to contribute on this issue.

The Annual Coordination Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Organization of the Islamic Conference was held in New York on 20-23 September. Following is the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister For Foreign Affairs Serdar Denktas’ speech during the Second Session of the OIC meeting on 22 September 2005:

It is a distinct honor and privilege for me to address this important meeting on behalf of the government and the people of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

At the outset, it gives me great pleasure to convey our thanks and appreciation to the Secretary-General and the Secretariat for pursuing dynamic policies with the objective of restructuring and further developing the Organization of the Islamic Conference. We are also grateful to the esteemed members of the Organization for their invaluable support and responsiveness extended to the just cause of the Turkish Cypriot people.

As we gather today with the ultimate aim of coordinating and uniting our efforts towards the common good of the Islamic world, I regret to express once again that the situation in the Middle East, Jammu and Kashmir, the continued occupation of a part of the territory of Azerbaijan, the plight of the Turkish Muslim minority of Western Thrace, the persistent violence following the war in Iraq, the famine in Niger and other unsettled issues concerning Islamic countries continue to be of great concern to us all.

In view of the obvious time constraint, I would now like to share with you in brief the recent developments regarding the Cyprus issue.

Following the referenda on 24 April 2004, the Cyprus question has taken a new turn and a new state of affairs has emerged. The sheer size of the "no" vote on the Greek Cypriot side meant that "what was rejected was the solution itself rather than a mere blueprint", as the UN Secretary-General himself observed.

We are very grateful for the resolution on the situation in Cyprus adopted at the 31^st Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers, held in Istanbul last year. The aforementioned resolution has enabled the Turkish Muslim people of Cyprus to participate in the OIC under the name of Turkish Cypriot State as envisaged by UN Secretary General’s comprehensive settlement plan. In line with this resolution, we have participated in the 32. Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers, held in Sana’a, under the name of Turkish Cypriot State for the first time.

This is a strong message by the OIC, reaffirming the total equality of the two parties in Cyprus and encouraging member states to further strengthen effective solidarity with the Turkish Cypriots with a view to helping to overcome the inhuman isolation imposed on us.

In line with the spirit of the resolutions adopted in Istanbul and Sana’a, we call upon all member states to further develop bilateral relations with the TRNC. In this respect, I would like to express our gratitude to the President of Azerbaijan, H.E. Mr. Ilham Aliyev, and his government, for taking steps aimed at ending the isolation of the Turkish Cypriot people through initiating direct flights between Baku and Ercan airport in Northern Cyprus. We hope that this initiative will open the way for the establishment of regular and charter flights between our two countries and set an example to other brotherly states.

I am confident that the launching of such reciprocal flights will definitely help boost the bilateral ties between the TRNC and the OIC member states.

I have the pleasure to express herewith my desire to visit every single OIC country to further enhance bilateral relations and cooperation. I have already paid visits to the brotherly countries of Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Gambia and most recently to Azerbaijan. Our visits will continue in the days ahead. Delegations from the TRNC have also participated in travel and tourism exhibitions and conferences in Senegal, United Arab Emirates and Egypt, and we expect to attend similar events due to take place in other OIC countries. Furthermore, I would like to avail myself of this opportunity to invite delegations from all the OIC countries to visit the TRNC and explore the possibilities of cooperation in various fields at their earliest convenience.

Before I conclude, I would like to once again renew our long-standing request for upgrading our observer status to that of a full member so that we may take our rightful place among the nations of the world.

The final communiqué of the Annual Coordination Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, stressing the OIC’s strong support for the Turkish Cypriots’ just cause, called upon the international community for the lifting of unjust embargoes imposed upon the Turkish Cypriots in accordance with the UN Secretary General’s report dated 28 May 2004 and within the framework of the previous OIC resolutions.

Reminding that the Annan Plan envisaged in Cyprus a new sate formed of two equal founding states based on bi-zonal partnership, in the final communiqué it was stressed that according to the Annan plan neither of the two sides could have the right of authority and adjudication over the other and that the Greek Cypriots could not represent the Turkish Cypriots.