TRNC News Today 17th January 2014

PRESIDENT DERVİŞ EROĞLU: “PROCEDURE TO BE FOLLOWED EVALUATED”

TRNC President Dr. Derviş Eroğlu stated that his visit to Ankara was very fruitful, and the procedure to be followed in  the event the negotiations start and the forward ideas were evaluated.

Eroğlu stated that he compared notes and evaluated the recent developments together with Turkish President Abdullah Gül during his visit to Ankara.

Stating that he also met with the Spokesperson of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (GNAT) Cemil Çiçek and then with the Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Eroğlu expressed that they discussed the Cyprus problem, economic problems and the water issue with the Turkish Prime Minister.

Derviş Eroğlu pointed out that he discussed the Cyprus issue and studies of the Compensation Commission with the President of Turkey Abdullah Gül and said “I want to state that we are really at a very harmonious point.”

Eroğlu added that whether an agreement will be possible in Cyprus cannot be understood before sitting at the negotiation table and stated that the Greek Cypriots displayed an approach that ‘an agreement is not necessary’.

DOWNER’S CONTRACT EXTENDED

It was stated that the UN Secretary General’s Special Advisor on Cyprus Alexander Downer’s contract has been extended for another 6 months.

Spokesperson of UNFICYP Michel Bonnardeaux stated that Downer’s contract which would end at the end of this month has been extended for another 6 months.

Michel Bonnardeaux also stated that Alexander Downer would be in New York on 22 January to inform the UN Security Council.

FORMER PRESIDENT TALAT: “TIME IS BEING LOST BY WORD PLAYS”

Former President, Mehmet Ali Talat has said that time was being lost by word plays about the joint statement and recorded that words expressing the concepts were also important, but it should be seriously focused on the solution after today.

Evaluating the stage reached regarding the joint statement crisis, Talat pointed out that the Cyprus negotiation process has been full of such kinds of word plays since 2004, especially before 2002 when the Annan Plan had been presented.

Upon being asked whether the attitude of the Greek Cypriot Leader Anastasiades has changed after being elected, Talat noted that Anastasiades was faced with economical problems just after he was elected, so he postponed the negotiations and the world appreciated this. Talat added that when the starting date for the negotiations was approved by the UN, Anastasiades  put forward the joint statement. Therefore discussions on the joint statement have begun and thus he played for time.

Stating that Anastasiadis was taking his time about resumption of the negotiations ‘with the aim of satisfying his partners who remain distant regarding a solution’, Talat said: “What we should do is to speed up the process.”

Source: TRNC Public Information Office