Turkish Foreign Minister Gul Leaves For Sarajevo

ANKARA - Turkish Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said on Tuesday that the recent Cyprus report which the United Nations Secretary general Kofi Annan has presented to Security Council did not bring new arrangements different from Annan Plan and they did not have any objections after their examinations.
Gul replied to questions of reporters at Ankara's Esenboga Airport prior to his departure for Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina to attend the Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Southeast European Cooperative Initiative.
Upon a question about the recent report which Annan has presented to the U.N. Security Council, Gul said that the report did not bring a new arrangement different from Annan Plan, adding that they did not have any objections.
Stressing that disarmament of Cyprus has already existed in the agreement, Gul said that the existing weapons would all be extracted from the island within that scope.
Noting that issues regarding the guarantor countries which undertook mission on the island have already been determined in the agreement, Gul said that issues about those countries did not take place in the recent arrangement.
Gul said that the agreement has already comprehensively explained who would have which weapons, adding that Cyprus would not have an army according to the new plan, there would only be a police force.
Gul said that weapon smuggling was prevented similarly and added that it was aimed not to transfer weapon to island without control in the future.
Noting that those issues have already existed in the agreement, Gul said that Annan strengthened the issue of disarmament of the island with his recent initiative.
Recalling that he would leave for Sarajevo to attend the Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Southeast European Cooperative Initiative, Gul said that those meetings were held every year and Turkey attributed very much importance to peace in Balkans. Gul added that regional problems and the issues concerning the region were on the agenda of the meeting.

(GC-AY) 20.04.2004