LEFKOSA - Politicians from Slovenia, holding the rotating presidency of the European Union (EU), arrived in Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) on Friday.
Members of the second biggest opposition party in Slovenia met Turkish Cypriot executives in Lefkosa, TRNC.
Katarina Kresal, the chairperson of the Liberal Democracy of Slovenia (LDS), and an accompanying delegation of LDS MPs had brief meetings with President Mehmet Ali Talat, Premier Ferdi Sabit Soyer, and Foreign Minister Turgay Avci of TRNC.
"With the pacifist policy it pursued in a region surrounded by wars, Slovenia improved its democracy, became an EU member and contributed to the EU and world peace," Premier Soyer said during his meeting with Slovenian politicians.
Also speaking in the same meeting, Kresal said she thinks the island should become a full member of the EU as a whole, after settlement of the Cyprus problem.
Later, the Slovenian delegation had a meeting with Foreign Minister Avci. After the meeting, Avci and Kresal held a joint press conference in which the foreign minister expected support of Slovenian MPs to end isolation of Turkish Cypriots.
"We see end of isolation as a means that will carry us to a comprehensive and lasting agreement, not as a target," Avci said.
Avci reiterated that Turkish Cypriots are ready for a new partnership based on political equality of the two nations, bi-zonal structure, equal status of founder states and Turkey`s status as guarantor state.
In the same press conference, Kresal said her party will always stand by Turkish Cypriots, and try to do their best to help them.
Kresal said the Slovenian government does not want this problem to last long and be uncertain.
The Slovenian MP also said her government is in a position to undertake initiatives to make a progress in the settlement process.
Slovenia joined the EU on May 1st, 2004, together with the Greek Cypriot administration, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland and Slovakia. It is actually the president of the union, and will hand over the presidency to France on July 1st, 2008.
(BRC-AÖ)