Erdogan meets with UN’s Annan and his Greek counterpart

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met early on Tuesday separately with United Nations (U.N.) Secretary General Kofi Annan and Greek Prime Minister Costas Caramanlis in Buergenstock, Switzerland where delegations from Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Greek Cypriot side, Turkey and Greece are holding meetings to find a fair and lasting solution to Cyprus issue before May 1.

Delegations from TRNC, Greek Cypriot side, Turkey and Greece are trying to reach compromise on several issues in ongoing negotiations in Buergenstock.

Erdogan expressed first impressions of Turkish side of the revised Cyprus plan presented to the parties on Monday in his meeting with Annan, sources said.

The sources noted that Annan thanked Erdogan for joining the negotiations in Buergenstock and expressed his pleasure that Turkish side was the first party which expressed its views about the drafted Cyprus plan.

Erdogan’s meeting with Annan lasted about 15 minutes and his meeting with Caramanlis lasted around 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, the revised Cyprus plan foresaw that elections should be held in the "United Cyprus Republic" on June 13, 2004. The parties are expected to give their first views on the new plan later in the day.

The drafted text envisaged gradual withdrawal of Turkish and Greek soldiers from the island, sources said.

The same sources noted that the draft Cyprus plan foresaw presence of 6,000 soldiers at first, then reduction of this number to 3,000. The new plan envisioned that number of soldiers in the island would be equalized with the number foreseen under the London and Zurich agreements in the end of the process.

The drafted text adds not only Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot national days but also May 8, publicly known as the European Union (EU) day, to the national days of the "United Cyprus Republic", which will be established after an agreement is reached on the island.

The draft foresees that sanctions and punishments to be given to the "United Cyprus Republic" in case it does not fulfil its obligations stemming from EU membership should be met by the federal state. This issue is considered one of the most important elements in the drafted plan.

EU and Justice ministries were given to the Greek Cypriots while the ministries like the Foreign Affairs, Defense, Industry, Natural Resources and Transportation were given to the Turkish Cypriots in the "United Cyprus Republic" under the revised Cyprus plan, sources added.

TRNC and Greek Cypriot side started Cyprus negotiations in the island on February 19 in order to find a fair and lasting solution to Cyprus issue till May 1 on the basis of Annan plan.

According to the Cyprus negotiation road map, two sides were expected to attend a quartet conference together with guarantor powers Turkey and Greece after March 22 to discuss issues on which they could not reach any compromise in their negotiations held in the island.

Delegations from TRNC and Greek Cypriot side will try to reach compromise on several issues in the quartet Cyprus conference to be held in Buergenstock, Switzerland till March 31 with the participation of delegations from guarantor powers Turkey and Greece headed by Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan and Greek Prime Minister Caramanlis.

Erdogan flew to Switzerland to join the negotiations on Monday. It was impossible for Turkey to make concessions of sine qua non conditions in Cyprus although Turkey had a Cyprus policy aiming at "solution in the island", Erdogan told a news conference before he left Turkey for Switzerland.

Annan presented his revised plan to the parties in Buergenstock on Monday and asked them to give their views on the new Cyprus plan by Tuesday morning and to say their final word on the text on Wednesday. The text consisted of 9,000 pages including annexes and the Foundation Agreement. Draft plan also covered the draft act of adaptation arranging United Cyprus Republic’s accession to the European Union (EU)

During the ceremony held to present the revised plan to the parties, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said that he took into consideration Turkish Cypriot side’s sensitivity on bi-zonality during preparation of the last version of Cyprus plan and stated that it would be seen that the draft plan was developed in regard to preserving the identity of Turkish Cypriots.

U.N. Secretary General Annan will fill in the blanks left in the plan if participants can’t reach any compromise in quartet meetings, and the text to be formed at the end of all these initiatives will be voted in referenda to be held synchronously in the Turkish and Greek Cypriot sides on April 20.