ANKARA - Turkish Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said on Tuesday that he hoped that Cyprus negotiations would be finalized during quartet conference without a need for U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan`s intervention.
Gul visited Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc to inform the parliament about the issue before four-way Cyprus negotiations start in Switzerland.
Stating that the mechanism which the sides agreed on in New York was working, Gul said, ``unfortunately, Turkish and Greek Cypriot sides could not reach a result in the island. Now that Turkey and Greece intervene. Firstly, we will start as the foreign ministers, and later prime ministers will join. We hope that Cyprus negotiations will be finalized during quartet conference without a need for Annan`s intervention.``
``If a result does not come out from the four-way talks, then Annan will make changes on the plan under the light of views which were put forward and the plan will be put to the referendum in that shape,`` he stressed.
Gul added that the agreement should be an unchangeable part of the European Union (EU) law. He said this was something separate from the negotiations.
Gul said through the negotiations, they were exerting efforts to reach a permanent agreement.
Foreign Minister Gul stated that this agreement should be included in the EU law to be permanent.
``There should not be any way of amending the agreement in the future with any excuse or through European law; otherwise, there is no meaning in exerting such effort to reach an agreement in vain,`` Gul emphasized.
Gul said he would proceed from Switzerland to Brussels to attend EU summit scheduled to take place between March 25-26, and noted that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan would go from Ankara to Brussels.
Stating that the issue would be discussed there, Gul said, ``we hope a permanent peace can be settled there considering the realities of the island.``
(AY-AÖ) 23.03.2004