KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia, the current chairman of Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), was reluctant Tuesday to reveal its position on the future of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, but said dialogue on the island should go on to find a way ''where two states could be governed that will bring mutual benefits to both sides of Cyprus''.
Malaysian Foreign Minister, Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar, said he was approached by both the Greek and the Turkish side recently on the Cyprus issue.
Responding to A.A's questions during a conference in Kuala Lumpur, Albar said ''Cyprus is not an easy question. We will be discussing this at a greater detail in Istanbul meeting. I would not like to prejudice or prejudge the whole situation until I go to the OIC meeting and until I know what other (OIC members) think.''
''Cyprus has not been attending OIC meetings as a state but as a community of Turkish Cypriots with an observer status. I think the UN solution would be the best solution in order to create the unity of the Cyprus state, but obviously that is not working,'' Hamid Albar said.
''We still feel the best solution is for dialogue and for parties to find a way where two states could be governed that will bring mutual benefits to both Northern as well as Southern Cyprus,'' he added. On the issue of electing a new secretary general for the OIC, Hamid Albar noted that there are at the moment three candidates from Malaysia, Bangladesh and Turkey. He said he hoped one of them would obtain an absolute majority. Otherwise, he said, some other way of election will have to be devised. Hamid Albar said reform and restructuring the OIC, Iraq and Palestine would top the agenda at the Istanbul meeting. (AKT) 08.06.2004