Cyprus: Impossible With the Mentality of Letter

The letter of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan inviting the parties of the Cyprus issue to New York to commence talks caused disturbance in both the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and Turkey. Erdogan on one hand called on Turkish Cypriot President Rauf Denktas to act constructively in New York, and on the other hand he asked from U.S. President Bush to use his influence to make Annan soften his conditions. Erdogan, who called Bush to prevent a crisis that the letter of Annan, which invited parties to New York on February 10 for talks, may cause, said that the letter caused disappointment in Turkey. The message that “If you come to New York for talks, this will mean that you accepted the preconditions,” which the letter of Annan gave, caused discussions between Turkish and Turkish Cypriot governments for 48 hours. In the end, Denktas said, “I will go to New York, not to sit at the negotiation table, rather, to voice my dissent to enforcements.” These statements caused the Turkish government to take action once again.

After Turkish Cypriot President Denktas, Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat, and Deputy Prime Minister Serdar Denktas left Turkey Friday noon the Cabinet gathered and Prime Minister Erdogan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul contacted U.S. while the meeting was still under way. Gul had a phone conversation with U.S. State Secretary Colin Powell at 15.30, while, Erdogan called Bush at about 17.30. Erdogan told Bush, “I have voiced our concerns and sensitivities in our meetings with you and with Mr. Annan. You know that we seriously and sincerely want to attain a solution. Our sensitivities do not seem to be included in the letter (of Mr. Annan). We ask from you to take action. We unfortunately see that the objections of Turkey are not taken into consideration.”

Erdogan said, “When we consider the clause that Annan will fill in the gaps, what those gaps will be is a very important issue for us. That point should be clarified. For us, it is important to see that you are in the process too. We want to commence negotiations but we also expect your contributions. We are determined to solve the issue.”

Bush replied; I know that you sincerely wanted to solve the problem. I contacted Annan in this respect, I will do the same if necessary. I also charged Powell about the issue. Now I will make him more active. We believe that you seek peace. We are with you in this sense. We support the process that you initiated. We will take action whenever necessary.

Erdogan said that Turkey did not change her views about bi-zonality, guarantorship, and military presence in the island.