Zaman, Turkey
July 18 2005
Putin to Take Concrete Steps to Support Turkish Cyprus
By Mirza Cetinkaya
Published: Tuesday July 19, 2005
zaman.com
Russian President Vladimir Putin said economic isolation of the
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) should be ended. Putin has
signaled for concrete steps to be taken in this regard.
Russian President hosting Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
as an “honorary guest” in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi
noted, the “meaningless” embargo imposed on TRNC must be lifted and
his country will have direct contacts with both the Turkish and Greek
Cypriot societies on the island. The two leaders emphasized their
opinions overlapped on many issues. “The first thing we must do is to
solve the problem of economic isolation on one part of the island, to
create conditions for establishing normal links between the island’s
two parts and, to lay a foundation for exhaustive normalization in
the interests of all residents of the island,” Putin remarked. The
Russian news agency Interfax quoted Putin as, expressing Russian
support for Annan’s initiative by saying, “We are absolutely
convinced that the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Kofi Annan
is moving in the right direction.”
Putin reassured Russia would begin ties with both the Greek and
Turkish Cyprus. His announcements indicate Russia vetoing Annan’s
report against the Greek Cypriot side in 2004 would concretely change
its policy regarding Cyprus issue. Yet, what kind of steps Russia
possessing $40 billions in southern Cyprus thanks to businessmen
would take is wondered.
The Turkish Prime Minister also expressed pleasure for the Russian
support for current Annan policies. The two leaders took a walk
around Putin’s summerhouse after a breakfast meeting. At a news
conference later, they touched upon the significance of mutual
relations. Putin reported he had listened to Erdogan’s opinions on
Iraq and Iran as both leaders expressed mutual agreement on several
international issues. The Russian President underlined that they had
also discussed Erdogan’s point of view on providing security and
cooperation in the Black Sea.
On Putin’s conviction for the solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict, Erdogan said, “We don’t want a world dominated by
hostility.” Putin pointing out they had met with Erdogan four times
within the last seven months said, their meeting passed in a sincere
atmosphere.
The Russian President also emphasized they discussed about not only
exporting natural gas and oil to Turkey but also putting into
practice many projects in the energy field to develop bilateral
economic relations. The two leaders promised support for developing
relations between Turkey and Russia.