THE GOVERNMENT yesterday refused to comment on Ankara’s proposals for a new Cyprus solution plan, details of which were published in a Turkish mainland newspaper on Monday.
Spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides told his daily press briefing that no comment could be made because no official proposals have been put forward by the Turkish side.
He expressed hope that Turkey would soon have a change of heart and negotiations on the Annan plan could be resumed.
”We have nothing to say because no ideas have been officially submitted to the UN Secretary General on behalf of the Turkish side,” Chrysostomides said, when asked to comment on Ankara’s solution plan.
He said there was nothing specific on the negotiating table and added that the National Council would meet on Monday to review developments and examine future prospects for a solution.
”I hope that soon there is a change in the stance of the Turkish side, which is expected in order to resume negotiations on the basis of Annan’s peace plan,” he said.
Turkish mainland newspaper Cumhuriyet reported on Monday that Ankara had drawn up a new plan for a Cyprus solution with 15 different maps to resolve the thorny issue of territory,
In a document titled ‘The Turkish Side’s Stance’, which is based on the Annan plan, Ankara envisages either returning Morphou to the Greek Cypriots or sharing it.
Ankara’s plan – with 15 different maps – offers territorial arrangements varying between 28.7 per cent and 31.8 per cent with the resettlement of between 45,000 and 53,000 people living in the north.
It also provides for the reduction on Turkish troops in the north to 6,000 from 35,000 within 40 months, and accepts EU legislation as a means to settle major issues following a solution. It also states Turkish troops would be withdrawn completely once Turkey joins the EU.
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul was yesterday reported as saying that a report on Cyprus by his Ministry was to be submitted next week to Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan. He said that negotiating the Annan plan did not mean accepting the entire plan.
Turkish Cypriot press yesterday reported former Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, who ordered the 1974 invasion, as saying he was “astonished” by the reports of the Ankara plan. He said he thought the document as published was not prepared in the Turkish Foreign Ministry but in the Greek Foreign Ministry.
“With this preparation Turkey would be bound to the EU legislation prior to becoming a member of the EU,” he said. “With this the right to guarantorship would be effectively removed. These could not be accepted. I cannot digest this solution.”
