LONDON - Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat said on Wednesday that TRNC should exert active efforts to gain permanent advantages.
Talat, who met with Turkish Cypriots living in London, said that British and U.S. policies towards Cyprus were not immediately clear.
TRNC Prime Minister Talat said that his country should be effective when Britain and the United States were setting their Cyprus policies.
Talat noted, ``the Greek Cypriots are punishing Turkish Cypriots with their own votes, and living Turkish Cypriots outside the EU (European Union). We should be active at this stage. We should be active and contribute to a policy to be set within the framework of new parameters. But, if we can`t take the steps to provide changes within the framework of these new parameters, we can never manage to change anything. Because, the Greek Cypriot side is the legal government of Cyprus. We are after changing this, and we will exert efforts to change it.``
His country would exert efforts to develop free trade in TRNC, direct exports from TRNC, and direct flights from and to TRNC, Talat stated.
Talat invited foreign investors to TRNC, and said that touristic investments boomed recently.
TRNC Prime Minister Talat said that his country had not lost its solution mission, but would never accept renegotiating United Nations (UN) Secretary General Kofi Annan`s plan for a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus plan.
International community refrained from recognizing TRNC since it thought that this would create lasting division, Talat pointed out.
Talat added, ``recognition is a process in which one state tells the other that it wants to establish international relationship with it. Turkey is recognizing us. And, no other country is recognizing us because the world system doesn`t allow it. This is the point. Anyway, if TRNC is recognized, the problem will continue. Because, there are problems like property and free movement. And, these problems have both legal and political dimensions.``
TRNC Prime Minister Talat, who came to London as the official guest of British Secretary of Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Jack Straw, earlier held a press conference in which he said that isolation of Turkish Cypriots would end step by step.
Talat is expected to meet with Straw and have some meetings at the parliament on Thursday.
Turkish Cypriots voted in favor of Annan plan while the Greek Cypriots rejected it in the simultaneous referenda held in the island on April 24.
Turkish Cypriot people want the international community to end their isolation and lift embargoes imposed on TRNC as they accepted the Annan plan in the separate referenda.
(BRC) 30.06.2004