ANKARA, 10 May 2005 — Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday he believed Cyprus was ready for fresh talks on the divided island’s future after meeting Greek Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulous in Moscow.
Erdogan and Papadopoulos held three-way talks with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the margins of yesterday’s Victory Day celebrations in Moscow marking the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe.
Cyprus peace talks stalled after Greek Cypriots voted last year against a UN power-sharing plan aimed at reuniting the Mediterranean island. Both Turkey and the minority Turkish Cypriots backed that plan.
Erdogan said Annan had repeated his readiness to assist a fresh diplomatic push to end the decades-old division of Cyprus.
“I saw the Greek Cypriots were not negative about this. Compared to their previous statements, I saw they approached positively the issue of carrying out such a process,” Erdogan told reporters on his return from Moscow to Ankara.
He said he would discuss the Cyprus issue further with Annan during his planned trip to the United States in early June.
Turkey fears that without progress toward a peace deal, the Greek Cypriots could veto its plans to start European Union entry talks in October. The Greek Cypriots joined the EU last May as the legal representative of the whole island of Cyprus. Only Ankara recognises the smaller breakaway Turkish Cypriot administration in the north of the island.
Despite Erdogan’s optimistic tone, many diplomats doubt the possibility of a breakthrough in Cyprus before Ankara starts its EU entry talks on Oct. 3. Tensions on the island were again on display yesterday.
Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Ferdi Sabit Soyer, whose government backs reunification, accused Papadopoulos of stonewalling efforts to revive the peace process.
“Papadopoulos is a political leader who plotted to wipe us out ... His policy is to sow enmity between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots,” the newly-appointed Soyer was quoted as telling the Greek Cypriot daily Politis.
