TURKISH CYPRIOT leader Mehmet Ali Talat is soon to receive an invitation to visit US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at the White House, it emerged yesterday.
Although Talat’s office said yesterday it was yet to receive an official invitation, a spokesperson told the Cyprus Mail, “We have been expecting something like this for several months – since [Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip] Erdogan and [Foreign Minister Abdullah] Gul last visited Washington”.
The spokesperson added that current relations with the US were “very good” and that Talat still had faith the US would keep promises it made to help lift the economic and political isolation of the north.
“The Americans promised to help lift the isolation of our community. This is something that has been clearly expressed,” she said.
She added that until now the only tangible efforts in that direction had been a series of visits to the north by two delegations of congressmen earlier this year and US instigation of a number of bi-communal projects aimed at improving relations between the two main communities on the island. The US also lengthened visa being granted to ‘Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’ (‘TRNC’) citizens from six months to a year.
Perhaps the biggest show of support came in May 2004 when Talat visited former Foreign Secretary Colin Powell at the White House. During the meeting Powell caused controversy by addressing Talat as “Mr Prime Minister”. It remains to be seen whether Rice will address the Turkish Cypriot ‘president’ as “Mr President”.
The US also gave considerable backing to Talat when he was still ‘prime minister’ by describing him as the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community – something that caused considerable upset to Rauf Denktash who was still ‘president’ at the time.
Talat’s spokesperson yesterday played down the importance of titles by saying, “The important point is that the Americans accept the fact that Talat is the democratically elected leader of the Turkish Cypriot people”. She did feel however that such a meeting, if it did occur, would be “meaningful and significant”.
Asked whether a meeting between the Secretary of State and Talat would take the north a step closer to political recognition Talat’s spokesperson was emphatic that recognition of the breakaway state was not being sought.
“It is not our policy to seek recognition,” she said, adding: “What we want is a just and lasting solution to the Cyprus problem. We are not looking for recognition”.
It was rumoured yesterday that Talat was also expecting an invitation to meet British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Commenting on the rumours Talat’s spokesperson said, “Again we have received nothing official on that, but we are hopeful”.
The government spokesman Kypros Chrisostomides said yesterday the government had no knowledge of an invitation for Talat to the US.
