LEADERS HOLD CYPRUS SUMMIT IN ANKARA
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas, TRNC Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat and Foreign Minister Serdar Denktas yesterday arrived in Ankara to hold a summit with Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. A written statement issued after the one-and-an-half-hour meeting said that current situation of the Cyprus issue was discussed. Stressing that Turkish and TRNC top officials agreed to support United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s efforts to find a settlement to the issue, the statement underlined that both sides vowed to act together in the future as well. Speaking to reporters, Denktas said that during their meeting, Erdogan briefed leaders about his recent visit to the US. The TRNC president added that there was no disagreement between Turkish and TRNC leaders plus they were waiting for Annan to begin his initiatives on the matter. /All Papers/
ERDOGAN: “TURKEY AND THE TRNC WILL NEVER AVOID NEGOTIATING WITH GREEK CYPRUS”
Appearing on television yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the Cyprus issue was a national case, adding that Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) would never avoid negotiating with Greek Cyprus. “We are ready to begin negotiations,” he said. “We will continue to show our good will to reach a resolution on the island.” Touching on the Cyprus summit, the premier said that a common stance was determined between Turkey and the TRNC on the Cyprus issue, adding that they would continue to act together to reach a resolution on the island. “There is no meaning to exploit the Cyprus issue,” added Erdogan. He stated that former governments failed to help a resolution for 40 years, adding that it should be accepted that there were two nations on the island. “Turkey and Greece are accepted as guarantor states on the island,” added Erdogan. /Cumhuriyet/
GUL: “TURKEY AND TRNC HAVE TAKEN IMPORTANT STEPS ON THE CYPRUS ISSUE”
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said yesterday that Turkey and Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) had done their best to resume Cyprus talks to find a solution to the issue. Before traveling to Brussels to hold a series of contacts there, Gul spoke to reporters at Esenboga Airport. Stressing that Cyprus summit in Ankara was very fruitful, Gul said that he hoped talks to resume soon with an initiative of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. He added that a just and permanent solution to the issue could be found within the framework of Annan’s Cyprus plan and considering realities of the island. /Turkiye/
ANNAN: “I HOPE THE NEGOTIATION DATE ON CYPRUS WILL BE DETERMINED IN A FEW DAYS”
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said yesterday that there was not much time for a resolution on the island and that the issue should be solved by May, when Greek Cyprus is scheduled to join the European Union. “If we want a resolution by May, we need to hurry,” said Annan, adding that he hoped to announce the negotiation date as soon as possible. “I hope the negotiation date on the island will be determined in a few days.” Annan is expected to send invitations to both sides to begin negotiations on Feb. 10 in New York. /Turkiye/
PAPANDREOU: “EFFORTS TO REACH A RESOLUTION ON THE ISLAND SHOULD BEGIN AS SOON AS POSSIBLE”
Greek foreign Minister George Papandreou said yesterday that Athens wanted efforts to reach a resolution on the island to begin as soon as possible. Speaking after his meeting with Greek Premier Costas Simitis, Papandreou said that the meeting was focused on the Cyprus issue. In related news, Greek Cyprus leader Tassos Papadopoulos said that United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan didn’t make up his mind to invite both sides to begin negotiations, adding that he was still thinking on the issue. /Turkiye/
ARINC: “TURKEY IS A MODERN EUROPEAN COUNTRY”
Speaking at the European Parliament Conference of Presidents in Budapest, Hungarian yesterday, Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc remarked that although most of its people were Muslim, Turkey was a secular and modern European country. Stressing that Turkey had implemented radical reforms on the road of European Union membership, Arinc stated that Turkey would play an important role between the West and Islamic World when it becomes a EU member. Following the meeting, Arinc met with European Parliament President Pat Cox where Cox expressed his pleasure of Turkey’s efforts to fulfill EU criteria. /Turkiye/
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL SECRETARY-GENERAL TO VISIT TURKEY TO DISCUSS HUMAN RIGHTS
Irene Han, secretary-general of the amnesty international is expected to visit Turkey this weekend. Han, accompanied by a delegation, is set to meet with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, representatives of non-governmental organizations and government officials to discuss human rights. /Cumhuriyet/
28 PEOPLE DIE IN COLLAPSED BUILDING IN KONYA
Relief workers rescued some 30 survivors and pulled out of the bodies of 28 people from the rubble of apartment building in Turkey’s central province of Konya that suddenly collapsed on Monday morning. Officials said 144 people were registered to have been living in 37 apartments of the building. The floors of the 11-storey building had mostly collapsed on top of each other. Hopes of finding more survivors began to fade yesterday and some 50-60 people are still expected to be under the debris. Meanwhile, police detained two of the contactors of the building. Investigation is underway whether the contractors ignored the building codes. /All Papers/
JANUARY INFLATION FIGURES RELEASED
The State Institute of Statistics (DIE) yesterday released month-on-month inflation figures for January. Inflation last month was 0.7% on the consumer price index (CPI) and 2.6% on the wholesale price index (WPI), pushing year-to year WPI to 10.8% and CPI to 16.2%. /All papers/