DEFENCE Minister Koullis Mavronicolas yesterday blasted the Turkish Cypriot side for accusing Greek Cypriots of increasing the range of their missiles while peace talks were under way.
The Anatolia agency quoted Turkish Cypriot ‘Prime Minister’ Mehmet Ali Talat as saying he couldn’t get an answer on the issue when it was brought up during Tuesday’s talks at Nicosia International Airport.
“It’s a funny and pitiable situation,” Talat said.
“But I suppose that the whole world observes this situation.”
Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash also accused the Greek side of refusing to discuss the issue of the missiles. He said President Tassos Papadopoulos had walked out without shaking hands after refusing to discuss the issue.
“We asked about the funds they allocate for missiles and that tensed the atmosphere,” Denktash said.
“That tensed the atmosphere, I insisted to be informed whether the reports that they allocated £30 million for arms were correct and he said that he was not able to discuss the matter in the conference.
“He left without shaking hands. He was the first to leave,” Denktash added.
But in a news conference yesterday, Mavronicolas said he was surprised by the Turkish Cypriot side’s comments and stressed that the government had made significant cuts in its budget for weapons programmes.
“We were surprised to hear the comments made by Turkish Cypriot politicians and especially those from Mr Talat concerning the arms procurement programmes of the National Guard,” Mavronicolas said.
“Our position is that we have contributed to the government policy that aims for a quick solution to the Cyprus problem, and this means we have frozen our weapons upgrading programmes, and we are concentrating more on maintenance programmes,” he added.
Mavronicolas said the comments were a contradiction in terms.
“On the other hand, the Turkish army has not shown any good will in this part of the negotiations,” he said.
“Let’s not forget that we are outnumbered by their army. They have around 45,000 troops which are offensively positioned, an army that is equipped with tanks, artillery, modern equipment, mostly of American origin,” he said.
“And we should also say that the occupying forces have gone ahead with upgrading their weapons on the island.”
Mavronicolas pointed out the Turkish side had refused to take part in de-mining operations and the creation of a positive climate for reaching a solution to the Cyprus problem.
He said he would brief EU defence ministers on the “realities that existed on the territory of the Republic of Cyprus”.
“The presence of the occupational forces is real,” he said.
“We are expecting Turkey to carry out similar actions to those carried out by our side and reduce the number of troops in the north,” he added.
Meanwhile Mavronicolas said the Defence Ministry was trying to find ways to ensure that National Guard officers were treated fairly in case of the disbandment of the National Guard after a solution.
“We are carrying out studies and efforts to find solutions for those officers,” he said.
“The National Guard is not going to be disbanded in a day. Based on the Annan plan, the National Guard would be disbanded within 29 months.
“If the talks unfold in a positive way, this could be an issue under discussion. The government has to ensure that no one is wronged,” he added.
