The New Anatolian, Turkey
May 10 2005
Turkish PM Erdogan calls for restarted Cyprus talks
The New Anatolian / Ankara
Erdogan’s diplomatic marathon at VE Day ceremony
A new process may start in Cyprus issue under the United Nations
aegis, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday.
Erdogan yesterday was in Moscow to attended 60th anniversary
ceremonies for the end of World War II, which turned out to be a
diplomatic marathon for him.
Upon his return Monday evening, Erdogan told reporters that the trip
had been very beneficial.
Asked whether there had been developments on the Cyprus issue during
his meeting with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Greek Cypriot
leader Tassos Papadopoulos, Erdogan said that Annan had told him that
there may be a new processin Cyprus.
`In our tri-partite meeting with Mr. Annan and Mr. Papadopoulos, Mr.
Annan said that the referendum and the subsequent process had been
left behind and that a new process may now start,’ he said. “I
observed that Southern Cyprus is not negative on this and contrary to
their past statements, they see such a process positive. I will have
the opportunity to meet with Annan during my visit to the U.S. We
will have a chance to discuss these issues in details.”
Erdogan had the opportunity on Monday to speak with other with world
leaders, including U.S. President George Bush and Russian President
Vladimir Putin.
During his talk with Bush, Erdogan spoke about his trip to the U.S.
scheduled for next month. Erdogan will go to the U.S. to attend the
college graduation ceremony of his daughters.
When asked about this trip, Erdogan said that the visit may take
place in the first half of June, adding that the final date would be
clear following official contacts.
Norwegian apology
During talks with Putin and Polish Prime Minister Kwasniewski, Prime
Minister Erdogan brought up the decisions of their respective
parliaments to recognize the so-called genocide claims of the
Armenians.
Both the Polish Parliament and the lower house of the Russian Duma
recently approved decisions recognizing the genocide claims that
Turkey has never accepted.
Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik, on the other hand,
apologized to Erdogan for the egg attacks made against him by
demonstrators during his visit to Norway last month.
Turkey had criticized and denounced Norway over substandard security
measures to protect the Turkish Prime Minister against such attacks.
Handshake with Armenian president
Despite expectations, the Turkish Prime Minister and the Armenian
President Robert Kocharian didn’t meet during the ceremonies in
Moscow. The two leaders only shook hands and didn’t exchange words,
according to Turkish sources.
The exchange of letters between Erdogan and Kocharian last month on
the establishment of a joint commission to study the genocide claims,
and the positive response from both sides, raised expectations of
such a meeting.
Turkish diplomatic sources said that the two leaders could meet
during the Council of Europe summit in Warsaw next month.