ISTANBUL - Opposition party Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal commented on Monday that it was not possible to regard the Cyprus talks which would start in New York on Tuesday as a new peace negotiation.
''In fact negotiation is not in question, the thing wanted to be done there is to make the sides undertake the responsibility of accepting the plan in question,'' asserted Baykal.
Baykal who attended the Socialist International meetings in Madrid, Spain returned to Turkey the same day.
Speaking to reporters at Ataturk Airport, Baykal said that issues of Iraq and Israel-Palestine were taken up during the meetings.
Referring to developments about Cyprus, Baykal criticized the attitude of the government and noted that the talks in New York were an attempt to make Turkey accept a fait accompli. ''Turkish foreign policy has entered a big breaking point for the first time after Lausanne Treaty,'' asserted Baykal.
Upon a question, Baykal said that EU official documents noted that Cyprus problem was not a precondition for Turkey's starting membership negotiations. ''It is clear that there is no legal connection. The mentality of giving up rights over Cyprus in order to join EU is unacceptable,'' he added.
(Öª) 09.02.2004