ANKARA - Real diplomatic struggle in Cyprus started from now on, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday.
Speaking in the meeting of his Justice and Development Party (AK Party) at the Turkish parliament, Erdogan noted that it was no more the Turkish side which would defend itself in Cyprus, but it was the Greek Cypriot side which would do so.
Erdogan said that the referee should conduct the match fairly.
It was not the Turkish side which was faulty, Erdogan stated and called on international arena, Turkey's friends and allies to fulfil the requirement of the principle ''who played the best should win'', Erdogan added.
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and Greek Cypriot side voted United Nations (UN) Secretary General Kofi Annan's plan for a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem in simultaneous referenda held on April 24.
Sixty-five percent of Turkish Cypriots voted ''yes'' to the Annan plan while 35.09 percent voted against the plan in the simultaneous referenda. A total of 75.83 percent of the Greek Cypriots said ''no'' to the plan while 24.17 of them voted ''yes.''
The rate of participation in the referendum was 84.35 in TRNC and 96.53 percent in the Greek Cypriot side.
The Greek Cypriot side joined on Saturday the European Union (EU) together with nine other countries including Estonia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia.
(BRC-AÖ) 04.05.2004