Cyprus issue will influence Turkey's EU path, says Greece

10/09/2008

ATHENS, Greece -- Settlement of the Cyprus issue will impact Turkey's EU integration process, Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis said on Tuesday (September 9th). "That's the core of the problem, and that's why I have repeatedly said that a settlement in Cyprus is in the Turkish people's best interest," Bakoyannis noted, after meeting with Cypriot counterpart Markos Kyprianou. Greece in principle supports Turkey's full membership in the EU, but it lays down the additional condition of finding a solution for Cyprus, Bakoyannis said. Kyprianou described the start of substantial negotiations between the two Cypriot communities as a "crucial turning point".

Visiting Brussels on Wednesday, Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat said he believes in-depth talks with Cypriot President Demetris Christofias could produce an agreement to reunite the island but added any settlement must guarantee the "political equality" of both Turkish and Greek Cypriots within a future federation. (Anadolu news agency, Reuters - 10/09/08; Kathimerini, In.news, ANA-MPA, AFP, CNA, Philelefteros, Famagusta Gazette - 09/09/08)