ISTANBUL - Prime Minister Costas Caramanlis of Greece said on Monday that Turkey's European Union (EU) perspective was beneficial for everyone, adding that the EU perspective was a very strong motivation for Turkey.
Speaking at the Youth Summit held on the occasion of NATO Istanbul Summit in Istanbul, Caramanlis said that Turkey's rapprochement to Europe was beneficial for the EU, Turkey and its neighboring countries.
Upon a question about the Cyprus issue, Caramanlis expressed his hope that the issue could still be solved.
He stressed that everyone should respect the results of the referenda held on the both sides of the island on April 24, 2004, as a democratic process.
Caramanlis noted that it would be wrong to say that the target of finding a solution to the Cyprus issue was ended, adding that the issue should be considered as a process that could be solved in a short-term.
(UK-ULG) 28.06.2004