Battle of Cyprus begins

The anticipated post-poll Turkish pressure on the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus for a negotiated settlement to the 40-year-old Cyprus problem was unveiled Friday with a gale-force wind from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan with a strongly worded message to President Rauf Denktas of the need to change his mentality.

Talking to reporters on his trip to Uzbekistan, Erdogan, in an unuccostomed manner, sent salvo after salvo at President Denktas and stressed the need to grasp the chance for peace by brushing aside his categorical rejection of a United Nations blueprint for a resolution of the Cyprus problem
New advisors, new mentality

The Turkish prime minister, stressing that many of the advisors of Denktas were from mainland Turkey, said Denktas needed to reconsider his advisors. "I do not want to cite names, but policies have been continued so long by the same persons. These policies cannot be approached with a new mentality by the same old people. President Denktas should either include some new additions among his advisors, or must change his advisors but he definitely needs to approach the issue with a view of the full side of the glass (positive elements in the plan)," he said.

"Right from the very beginning, I have never supported a position categorically rejecting or accepting in full the Annan plan. The two sides must come together and negotiate the plan. I have said this to President Denktas as well," said Erdogan.

Erdogan said during the election campaign the two sides on the island locked themselves in a hardline rejection of the Annan plan, or accepting the document in full without raising any objections. He said both approaches were wrong whereas the Turkish Cypriot leaders ought to come together and develop a common and reasonable position vis a vis the U.N. document.
May 1 is not the end of the world

He said his sincere wish was to have a Cyprus settlement by May 1 so that a reunited Cyprus join in the European Union rather than a unilateral Greek Cypriot accession. Erdogan said the May 1 deadline was important, but won’t be the end of everything. He said if that deadline could not be met, then a new date would be fixed and peace efforts would be continued.

He cautioned Europe that unilateral Greek Cypriot accession could not be considered as the EU accession of the entire island of Cyprus.

"If we cannot have a deal by May 1, the state that will enter the EU will not be the Cyprus Republic, but the Greek Cypriot Republic. This will be a contradiction with the conditions of the EU. For example, this Greek Cypriot state will enter the EU without settling its border problem. That is, with the Greek Cypriot membership, the EU will contradict itself," said Erdogan.
Don’t obstruct, push for reconciliation

The Turkish prime minister said rather than the party obstructing the Cyprus peace talks process, the Turkish Cypriot side must be the party pushing for reconciliation. "The other day U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan issued a statement and declared his readiness to resume the Cyprus talks if the sides demonstrated their good will. I reiterate, we consider the Annan plan negotiable. Neither Turkey, nor the KKTC should give an image of running away from the negotiations table. On the contrary, we must present an image of the party trying to reach a compromise. In this process, we must think ten times and speak once. We must definitely not be the party escaping from the negotiations table," he said.
Denktas fires back

Hours after the Turkish prime minister spoke in Uzbekistan, President Denktas retaliated in the very same fashion: A salvo through the press.

"I have no complaints from my advisors," Denktas started his press conference in northern Cyprus, expressing his sorrow of having to answer a Turkish prime minister through the media.

He said such issues between Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot side ought to be handled at talks between the two sides rather than conducting diplomacy through the media.

He said he has understood from the words of Erdogan that he has the intention of changing the Turkish Cypriot negotiator and his advisors. "We are discussing these things here amongst ourselves. As the president I have the power to appoint a negotiator. Let the Turkish government tell me name of a negotiator to its taste, I will appoint him and see where he will lead us," said Denktas.

The Turkish Cypriot leader said he did not approach the Annan plan with a categorical rejection but did not believe that the document could be improved through negotiations because it was built on an incorrect philosophy.

He insisted that the scope of the new Cyprus talks should be established through proximity talks between the two sides on Cyprus.