ErdoÄ?an warns world about KKTC’s future status
Today’s Zaman
26 September 2009, Saturday
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an sits next to Russian
President Dmitry Medvedev at a meeting of the United Nations Security
Council at UN headquarters.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an sits next to Russian
President Dmitry Medvedev at a meeting of the United Nations Security
Council at UN headquarters.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an has warned the
international community that the status of the Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus (KKTC) as an independent state will have to be
acknowledged if the ongoing talks to reunite the island fail,
signaling that his government might revise its pro-reunification
stance in effect since it first came to power in 2002.
`It must be understood that negotiations cannot last forever, the
present window of opportunity cannot stay open forever and there is an
absolute need to make the process successful,’ ErdoÄ?an said on
Thursday at the UN’s 64th General Assembly.
By `process,’ ErdoÄ?an was referring to a revived peace process
between the island’s Greek and Turkish Cypriots, who have lived
divided since 1974, when Turkey militarily intervened in the north of
the island in response to a Greek-inspired coup.
Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat and Greek Cypriot leader
Dimitris Christofias broke a four-year stalemate on talks in March
2008 and have been engaged in face-to-face negotiations with the goal
of reunifying the island. Previous reunification efforts on Cyprus
collapsed in 2004, when Greek Cypriots rejected a settlement blueprint
drafted by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and accepted by
Turkish Cypriots.
`If a solution cannot be reached because of the Greek side’s rejection
then normalizing the status of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
in the global arena will be a must that can no longer be delayed’
ErdoÄ?an said a comprehensive settlement can be achieved if the
parties are constructive. `If not, the UN secretary-general should ste
. We are aiming for a referendum in the spring of 2010 at the
latest. But if a solution cannot be reached because of the Greek
side’s rejection, as in 2004, then normalizing the status of the
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the international arena will be
a must that can no longer be delayed,’ ErdoÄ?an added.
According to sources at the Turkish Foreign Ministry, Prime Minister
ErdoÄ?an reminded the world community at the UN that Turkey has
a Plan B. `Turkey will be engaged in efforts to provide recognition
for the KKTC if the Greek side rejects a proposed solution,’ the
source said.
The Turkish side often reiterates that there is a serious inequality
in negotiations because Turkish Cypriots are isolated in every sphere
and are unable to even play an international soccer match while Greek
Cypriots comfortably enjoy international recognition and EU
membership. In addition, Turkey’s entry into the European Union partly
hinges on a peace deal in Cyprus, whose Greek Cypriot population
represents the island in the EU.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an attended the G-20 meeting
in the US city of Pittsburg with his wife, Emine. The two posed for a
photo with US President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, ahead of
the meeting.
`Turkish Cypriots are still faced with unjust isolation. It is not
right to expect the Turkish Cypriot party to pay the cost of
deadlock,’ ErdoÄ?an also said. `What the prime minister has
voiced at the UN is not new, but his words make the case stronger that
Turkey will make an effort for the KKTC’s recognition if all other
efforts fail to reunify the island,’ said Ã-zdem Sanberk, a former
foreign ministry undersecretary and a foreign policy analyst.
`The prime minister’s words should not be perceived as a threat. We
are saying that we are ready for a solution similar to the Annan plan,
but if it is rejected by the Greek side, there is no escape from a de
facto KKTC state,’ Sanberk told Today’s Zaman. `The Greek side should
understand this message in the right w
ded that the problem is that the status quo is not bothersome for the
Greek side because they are already in the EU.
`If Turkey starts diplomatic efforts for the recognition of the KKTC,
the Greek side will then start to act, and a war of attrition is
likely. So the prime minister’s words reveal a hidden threat,’ Sanberk
said. Observers agree that the window of opportunity is small for a
solution in Cyprus and that it could start to close in late 2009 as
preparations begin for Turkish Cypriot parliamentary and presidential
elections in February and April 2010, respectively.
Former diplomat Temel Ä°skit evaluated the situation as `the
last chance.’ `Conditions are ripe, but on both sides there are people
who do not want a solution,’ he told Today’s Zaman.
`If the result of a referendum shows that the Greek side is rejecting
a solution, then the Greek side will be seen as responsible for
non-settlement,’ he said. `And so the prime minister is warning about
what could happen in such a situation.’
Meanwhile, the KKTC’s Talat told reporters on Thursday in New York
that the international community has an important role in finding a
solution to the Cyprus problem. He added that the KKTC is working in
close cooperation with Turkey for a solution in Cyprus and that Prime
Minister ErdoÄ?an’s words were `beneficial and meaningful.’
Asked when he would meet with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Talat
said a specific date was not yet set but that they would meet in the
coming days. He said he had meetings with British Secretary of State
for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs David Miliband and Swedish
Foreign Minister Carl Bildt.
Talat also said he wanted to meet with Christofias in New York but did
not want to have an official meeting with him. Talat is expected to
meet with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet DavutoÄ?lu as well as
officials from Turkey’s permanent representation at the UN.
`Turkish-Armenian relations at new level’
Addressing the UN General Assembly, ErdoÄ?an said Turkey is an
el
our region have global consequences. Therefore, our constructive and
conciliatory policy in the region contributes to global peace as
well," he said and added that the ongoing dialogue process between
Turkey and Greece was a concrete example of such an approach and that
efforts aiming at the normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations were
yielding fruitful results.
ErdoÄ?an, speaking at Princeton University on Thursday, said
Turkish-Armenian relations have reached a new level through Swiss
mediation. `I believe agreements we have initialed could be submitted
to Parliament if political biases and concerns do not get in the way,’
he said, adding that the government can possibly bring the issue to
Parliament by Oct. 10 or 11.
Meanwhile, the Armenian and Turkish presidents will be meeting in
Switzerland on Oct. 10 to sign the two diplomatic protocols, which are
then to be submitted to the Turkish and Armenian parliaments, as
sources revealed the current Turkish-Armenian diplomatic plan.
`World should fulfill its promises to the Gazans’
In his address to the UN General Assembly, ErdoÄ?an said Turkey
expects countries of the region to share the same vision for peace,
security and stability.
Stressing the importance of Iraq’s territorial integrity, political
unity and domestic peace, he said that Turkey attached great
importance to the establishment of a national consensus in the country
as well as the continuation of a political dialogue focusing on all
segments of Iraqi society.
Commenting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, ErdoÄ?an said
Turkey has always supported the Palestinians. He also brought up the
humanitarian tragedy in Gaza last winter, in which close to 1,400
Palestinians, including 252 children, were killed in Israel’s attacks.
He called on the international community to fulfill its promises to
the Gazans.
26 September 2009, Saturday
YONCA POYRAZ DOÄ?AN Ä°STANBUL
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
