Papadopoulos rejects Denktas letter

Greek media reports said Papadopoulos considered the letter "as never having been sent," the Anatolia news agency said.

The KKTC cabinet decided on Aug. 4 to reopen a secondary school in Rizokarpasso, a Turkish Cypriot region densely populated with Greek Cypriots. The school was shut down by Turkish Cypriot President Rauf Denktas in 1975.

Foreign Minister Denktas sent a letter to Papadopoulos over the weekend and conveyed his uneasiness over Greek Cypriot Education Minister Pefkios Georgiades’ request for the repair and required supplies of the school to be financed by the Greek Cypriot administration, although his government was authorized to carry out such work.

In his letter, the KKTC minister said the attitude of the internationally recognized Greek Cypriot administration was likely to block efforts to reopen the school at the beginning of this education term.

According to Greek Cypriot media, Papadopoulos was disturbed since the letter was signed by Denktas as Foreign Minister of the KKTC, which is not recognized by the Greek Cypriots.

"If Papadopoulos had replied to the letter, he would have initiated dialogue with an illegal institution," Greek Cypriot media reports said.

Meanwhile, other bones of contention between Turkish and Greek Cypriots towards opening the school continue. The Greek Cypriot administration does not accept the request by the KKTC government that teachers who are going to work at the school should apply to their government’s education ministry to obtain a work permit.

The Turkish Cypriots who voted overwhelmingly in favor of the U.N.-endorsed reunification plan in an April referenda have engaged in strong efforts since then to get the international community to keep its promise to lift the political and economic isolation of their state.

The April plan was defeated due to the rejection of Greek Cypriots, who, despite their rejection, were accepted as full members to the European Union in May. The KKTC is recognized only by Turkey.