NEW YORK - Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) would take one more step in return for every step to be taken by the Greek Cypriot side.
Erdogan delivered a speech on Turkey's foreign policy in the 21st century at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York and then replied to questions of participants.
When one of the participants compared the situation in Cyprus with the demand for a federation in Iraq, Erdogan stated that those two were different from each other.
Erdogan said that there was not any ethnic, religious or linguistic based situation in Cyprus and Annan plan proposed an opposite solution.
Prime Minister Erdogan recalled that Turkey assumed the understanding that ''insolubility was not a solution'' and said, ''we accept the good will mission of United Nations (U.N.) Secretary General. We want continuation of the process related with Annan plan. We expect this good will from both the Greek Cypriot side and Greece.''
Erdogan stressed that they were running out of time related with Cyprus.
In this case, an outcome could be reached by speeding up the process taking chapters of the Annan plan as basis instead of whole of the plan, Erdogan stated.
Erdogan noted that issue of map could be taken up as the basic principle and reiterated that TRNC would take one more step in return for every step to be taken by the Greek Cypriot side.
It was not possible for U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan to personally deal with the issue, Erdogan said.
Erdogan stated that however, persons Annan had chosen were not successful in their mission.
Prime Minister Erdogan noted that a person from an impartial and politically powerful country would help and facilitate a solution in Cyprus.
(BRC-AÖ) 27.01.2004