Security and technical glitches delay Talat

TURKISH Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat left for Turkey yesterday for a special Cyprus problem summit, but only after hours of delays caused first by security reasons initially and then aircraft problems.

The Turkish Cypriot delegation had been scheduled to fly to Ankara at around 1pm.
They had already boarded the aircraft at Tymbou airport when police halted the departure after they discovered that a man wanted for robbery was among the passengers.

The delegation re-boarded the plane after the man and his luggage were located, but there was further delay when the pilot discovered a problem with the aircraft’s electronics.

The plane was evacuated and the delegation remained at the airport awaiting the arrival of another aircraft.

The Turkish Cypriot politicians finally left at around 3.30pm.

Talat is accompanied by his second in command, ‘prime minister’ Ferdi Sabat Soyer, and Democratic Party leader Serdar Denktash.

They were scheduled to meet with Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan last night.

The consultations with the Turkish government are taking place ahead of the visit to Ankara of UN Undersecretary Sir Kieran Prentergast, who has been in Cyprus consulting with local leaders this week, before flying on to Athens and Ankara.

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