French envoy reassures government
FRANCE does not envisage a situation in which Turkey does not sign the customs union protocol with the ten new EU member states, French Minister for European Affairs Claudie Haignere said yesterday.
Speaking through an interpreter following a meeting with Foreign Minister George Iacovou yesterday in Nicosia, Haignere said the recent decision by the European Council to give Turkey a starting date for accession talks had put a new perspective on achieving a Cyprus solution.
On December 17, gave Turkey the date of October 3 to begin accession talks with the bloc. However Ankara must first extend its signature for the customs union to the ten new member states, including Cyprus before that date.
Turkey did not sign the protocol during the EU summit in December its signature is seen by both the Greek and Turkish sides as recognition of the Cyprus Republic, something Ankara says it will not do outside of a comprehensive settlement.
Haignere said that France could envisage a situation where Turkey “does not respond to its obligations as pointed out in December 2004”.
Iacovou said the issue had been discussed by the French Minister and President Tassos Papadopoulos when they met earlier yesterday, among other issues.
She said that France had always supported UN Secretary-general Kofi Annan’s good offices missions towards a settlement and even though this had not been possible before Cyprus’ accession to the EU, the hope remains for a prospect that will lead to a just and viable solution”.
”We must not be pessimistic, looking backwards”, the French official said noting that progress has been made in several issues such as the rapprochement between the two communities,” she said. ”The message is that we must not stop here but intensify the dialogue in order to make progress’.”
Since the December 17 summit, Ankara has begun making moves towards persuading the international community to resume the Cyprus talks, in the hope of reaching an agreement before the October 3 deadline. So far however the Greek Cypriot side has refused bite.
Last week it was reported that Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan would ask Annan to begin a new initiative during the upcoming World Economic Forum in Davos.
Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat, said at the weekend on his return to the north from meetings in Ankara, that he did not think Annan would be in Davos.
He said the Turkish Cypriot side was ready to return to the table if asked but said it was now up to the Greek Cypriots. “What is important is to motivate the Greek Cypriot side as well,” he said.
“Turkey will commence accession talks with the EU on 3 October, and will sign by that date the supplementary protocol of the Ankara Agreement in a way that also includes Cyprus.”
Government spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides on Sunday dismissed Erdogan’s statements about the resumption of talks. “We are used to statements made by Erdogan which have no practical value,” he told reporters. He said that the Greek Cypriot had shown its good intention to solve the Cyprus problem by not invoking its veto rights on December 17
Chrysostomides said that Papadopoulos would visit Athens on January 25 at the invitation of Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, with a view to assessing the situation.
