BY SOLI OZEL
SABAH- Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan traveled to Greece today, where he will not only meet with his Greek counterpart Costas Karamanlis, but also pay a visit to the western Thrace region adjacent to Turkey. Turkish-Greek relations might not be spoiled by this visit. However, considering Erdogan’s difficulties with mastering the details of issues, he should avoid in-depth discussions. Some people fear that Turkish-Greek relations, after starting down a positive path on the basis of common interests over the Cyprus referendums, will be spoiled. Actually Karamanlis stated before the referendums that Greece would support Turkey’s European Union membership and it getting a date for membership negotiations. However, problems stemming from the Greek Cypriot administration are possible. As we saw last week, the gains from the referendums haven’t turned out to be concrete. In addition, it’s become clear that Ankara made a grave tactical error by rejecting the United Nations plan at the 2002 Copenhagen summit. Turkey painted itself into a corner by opening the door for the Greek Cypriots’ single-handed EU membership, first in Copenhagen and then at The Hague.
It would have been fitting for a country calling EU membership its strategic target to place the Cyprus issue in a wide strategic context and act accordingly. Our position on Cyprus paved the way for the current disappointment. What’s more, the current stance of Azerbaijan proves that the negative situation faced by Turkey concerning Cyprus has complicated its relations with not only the West, but also the entire world. The other Turkic republics and Muslim countries acted no differently, that is, they showed a stance favoring Greek Cyprus. Obviously Washington’s support is very important as well. As Turkey won’t recognize the Greek Cypriot administration, we shouldn’t let the political momentum be lost. In this respect, the guarantor nations should start certain contacts. We can ensure that the Turkish and Greek Cypriots take certain steps as part of Annan’s plan with the encouragement of Ankara and Athens. In addition, our progress on the Aegean issue mustn’t be lost either. In short, the political advantages gained through the referendums by Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) must be translated into definite gains.