Give-and-take process starts in Cyprus talks

LEFKOSA (AA) – Turkish and Greek Cypriot delegations headed by TRNC President Rauf Denktas and Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos met for the 14th time the same day.

The sides are expected to submit the constitution drafts of the founding states to the U.N. in today’s meeting. U.N. special envoy Alvaro De Soto who attends the meetings as an observer had earlier asked the sides to submit the draft constitution on March 12, Friday.

In the 13th meeting of the sides last Wednesday, the sides discussed transition period after reaching an agreement, debts of the founding states, security, and European Security and Defense Policy. At the meeting, the Turkish side had presented its document about functioning of higher court. De Soto was not warm to the demand of the Turkish side which asked for an increase in number of police force in Turkish founding state.

Speaking after the last meeting, Denktas had said that the philosophy of Annan plan considered TRNC as if it didn’t exist, that there were some legal and constitutional difficulties about referendum and those difficulties would be overcome by accepting TRNC as the founding state.

Denktas had said that U.N. envisaged 1700 policemen for TRNC, 3000 for Greek Cypriots and 7000 for themselves, adding that in no part of the world, foreign troops, whose number was more than that of the regional security forces, could be present. "When we asked the reason of that to U.N., they told us that they expected fierce incidents in the beginning," Denktas had noted.

Noting that the document presented by Greek Cypriots about security issue constituted great danger for Turks, Denktas had stated that it was the Turkish side which had to be satisfied about security.

Denktas had stressed that it was not meaningful to share the debts, pointing out that the debts of the founding states should be paid by that founding state which got into debt. Denktas had added that for the sides to give and take in that ‘give-and-take’ process, they should recognize who the other side was, adding "who will give to whom and who will take from whom? Are we considered as the landlord and the servant, or are we the equal owners of the house, these should be determined. The things to be given and taken should also have the equal value."