FINLAND’S EU presidency said yesterday it would only suggest a high-level meeting between Greek and Turkish Cypriots sides in Helsinki at the weekend if there was a chance to find a compromise on its proposal to avoid a Turkey-EU crisis.
Risto Piipponen, Finland’s ambassador to Cyprus, was commenting on reports that the two sides, together with Greece and Turkey, would be invited to Helsinki to thrash out the proposal before the crucial review of Turkey’s accession course on November 8.
Finland has been trying for several months to sell a compromise proposal that would help avoid a derailment of Turkey’s talks over its failure to open its ports and airports to Cypriot traffic.
The Turkish Cypriot side yesterday expressed its willingness to go to Helsinki at the weekend, but the Greek Cypriot side said no invitation had been extended, and that in any case if such a meeting were to take place, it would not be any higher than the level of foreign ministers.
Kare Halonen, the Finnish Foreign Ministry’s Director General for the Department for Europe, was on the island yesterday and held meetings with Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot presidential aides Rasit Pertev and Tasos Tzonis.
Halonen had been in Ankara on Monday, Piipponen said. “It was the normal consultations we have had for quite a while already and I will not be able to disclose any details of these discussions,” the ambassador said.
Asked if the presidency had extended an invitation to the parties to go to Helsinki at the weekend, Piipponen said: “We have had these consultations at civil service level and if we consider that there would be chances to find a compromise we would then consider taking this up to the political level. Such a decision has not been made yet.
“We are analysing the situation and as soon as we think there would be a chance to make further progress at the political level we would then take that decision, but we haven’t taken it yet,” he said.
The ambassador said Finland viewed the compromise, which is said to propose the return of the ghost town of Varosha and the administration of Famagusta port by the UN or the EU, as an important step forward on the Cyprus issue in general.
“I think it’s important to take this step and it’s important to have a compromise and we are sure that that would lead to further positive steps,” he said.
While the Turkish Cypriot side appears firm that a Helsinki meeting is on the cards and has already assigned its ‘Foreign Minister’ to attend, the Greek Cypriot side has referred to the proposed meeting in terms of “thoughts and ideas”.
President Tassos Papadopoulos said on Sunday that for such a meeting to happen, “Turkey must first state that it is accepting to return the fenced off part of Varosha to its lawful inhabitants, and then we will consider a meeting with Mr Talat.”
Yesterday before leaving the island for the UK, Foreign Minister Giorgos Lillikas said the government had not received an invitation for a meeting in Helsinki, and neither had Greece.
He also said the key to the whole issue was Varosha and the return of the people to their homes.
He was echoed by Government Spokesman Christodoulos Pashiardis: “Turkey had so far not given any positive indications but several negative ones.”
