ANKARA - Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said on Tuesday, ''peace will be settled in Cyprus one day. However, it should be based on sound grounds to be permanent.''
Gul received members of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Association of Relatives of Martyrs and Disabled Veterans.
Responding questions of journalists following the meeting, Gul noted, ''serious clashes and disagreements were experienced in the world in the past. However, any of them did not continue for a long time. Therefore, peace will be settled in Cyprus one day. However, it should be based on sound grounds to be permanent. Everyone in the island should respect each other.''
''Turkey hopes that the international public opinion will understand positive steps taken by TRNC to settle peace. I hope that the two sides will sit at the negotiation table again and find a solution on the basis of equal sovereignty. I also hope that the European Union (EU) will lift embargo on TRNC. In that case, negotiations can be resumed under much better conditions,'' he stressed.
Gul told reporters, ''this is not the case of only Cyprus. It is also the case of everyone in the Republic of Turkey. Peace, future and security of Turkish Cypriots is our future and security. In order to settle a lasting peace in the island, a solution should be found to satisfy the both sides. Both sides need a new partnership system based on equal sovereignty.''
Noting that they appreciated recent steps of TRNC, Gul added, ''we have been expending intense efforts to find a solution to the Cyprus question. We do not consider insolubility a solution.''
(UK-AÖ) 01.07.2003