ANKARA - State Secretary for Foreign Affairs (European Affairs) Atzo Nicolai of the Netherlands said on Tuesday that if the Greek Cypriot side votes ''no'' in the referendum, the European Union (EU) should determine its attitude again, adding that they could not leave out of the cold Northern Cyprus.
Nicolai and Turkish Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul held a joint press conference after their meeting.
When asked what their attitude would be during their EU term presidency if the Greek Cypriot side votes ''no'' in the referendum, Nicolai said that they hoped the results would become positive in both sides of Cyprus, but if Greek Cypriot side would vote ''no'' in the referendum, the EU should determine its attitude again.
Gul said that they mainly took up Turkey's EU membership process during their meeting. He added that he had the chance to explain in details the reforms which were made in Turkey.
When asked what would happen if the Greek Cypriot side votes ''no'' in the referendums which would be held in Cyprus on April 24, Nicolai said that firstly, coming out of a positive outcome from both sides was important.
Noting that it was a historical chance and they have never been so close to solution in Cyprus, Nicolai said that coming out of a negative result from Greek Cypriot side would cause a bad result for the whole process.
Stressing that Turkey has played a very constructive role in this process, Nicolai said that in the case of worst scenario, they could not leave out of the cold northern Cyprus. He added that they should re-evaluate what the results of the situation would be within the European Union (EU).
Noting that while making this new evaluation they could be in contact with the United Nations, Nicolai said that southern Cyprus would undertake big responsibility within this scope.
Nicolai said that they mainly took up Turkey's EU membership process during their meeting and they discussed what would happen in EU summit which would be held in December during EU term presidency of Netherlands. Noting that there were important and positive developments in Turkey, Nicolai said that they, as EU, were following those developments closely.
When asked his prediction regarding the date of Turkey's full membership to EU, Nicolai said that it was difficult to predict, adding that whether Turkey could start full membership negotiations or not would be discussed in December.
Nicolai said that the EU Commission would express view whether Turkey complied with Copenhagen criteria or not by presenting progress report and he added that they would evaluate this report in the summit in December.
Gul said in his part that whether Turkey would start full membership negotiations or not would be determined during EU term presidency of the Netherlands, adding that they were in close cooperation with the Netherlands within that scope.
Noting that he had the chance to explain in details the reforms which were made in Turkey, Gul said that two countries would work more closely in coming period.
Gul said that they mainly discussed Turkey's EU membership process and evaluated developments about Cyprus during their meeting.
(GC-AY) 20.04.2004