THE TURK?SH Cypriot side was the latest to dismiss a British press report suggesting that Famagusta port could be operated under the auspices of the UN in an attempt to settle the issue of direct trade.
Hasan Ercakica, the spokesman for Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat, said the north was not involved in any such discussions.
On Wednesday, an article in Britain’s Independent claimed the formula being worked out in Brussels involved the easing of the breakaway regime’s economic blockade by bringing its ports under UN jurisdiction. This would allow the Turkish Cypriot side, which is not internationally recognised, to export goods with UN paperwork and customs declarations.
But the Cyprus government, the Finnish EU Presidency in Nicosia and the United Nations were all in the dark about the alleged proposal.
“The aforementioned media reports state that some of our ports will be opened to international trade under such a system and that the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots will be lifted,” Ercakica said in a statement. “However, all the involved parties are aware that our ports are already being used for international trade and that the isolation of Turkish Cypriots cannot be lifted through such a practice.”
“As the Turkish Cypriot side, we demand that the conditions of export from our ports to the EU countries are changed and regulated in line with the trade rules between EU countries.”
Ercakica said the ports in north already had the necessary facilities for imports and exports. “There is no need for the UN or the EU to take over this mission,” he said.
He also said that proposals such as transferring authority over Famagusta port to the EU and handing Varosha back to the Greek Cypriots, were tabled by the Greek Cypriot side.
“It is impossible for the Turkish Cypriot side to accept or discuss these proposals, which only aim to create confusion and prevent the lifting of the unjust isolation of Turkish Cypriots,” said Ercakica.
Turkish Cypriot ‘Prime Minister’ Ferdi Sabit Soyer on Wednesday the notion that Varosha would be returned to the Greek Cypriots was a “conceited fantasy”.
Government Spokesman Christodoulos Pashardis hit back at Soyer, saying the return of Famagusta to its lawful residents would be part of a Cyprus settlement under UN resolutions. “It appears that it is indeed a conceited fantasy that the Turkish side would conform with UN resolutions,” he said.
