NICOSIA, July 31 (AFP) - Turkish Cypriot prime minister Mehmet Ali Talat said Saturday that planned Greek Cypriot measures to boost trade and travel between the two sides of divided Cyprus were welcome but fell below expectations.
The Greek Cypriot leadership announced Friday a new initiative under which Turkish Cypriot buses, trucks and taxis would be allowed to cross the UN-patrolled Green Line.
Truckers from the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) would be also allowed to transport goods to the internationally-recognized Greek Cypriot south. Previously only Greek Cypriots could provide such transport.
"The envisaged measures ... are issues that we have demanded since the opening of crossing points" between the two sides in April 2003, Talat told reporters in the village of Pyla, the Turkish Cypriot TAK agency reported.
"Therefore, we are not in a position to reject them," he said.
Talat, however, said the proposals were insufficient because there remained restrictions on the crossing of certain vehicles from the north.
The initiative is seen as a pre-emptive move by the Greek Cypriot leadership to avert a clash with the European Union (EU) which is seeking to open direct trade links with the north to help lift it out of economic isolation.
Cyprus joined the EU on May 1 as a divided island, after Greek Cypriots rejected a UN reunification plan in a referendum the previous week, nullifying a large "yes" vote among Turkish Cypriots.
The EU has been trying to honor a pledge to alleviate the economic isolation of the Turkish Cypriots as a reward for their backing for the UN blueprint.
Brussels has already earmarked 259 million euros (320 million dollars) in economic aid, and is proposing ending an embargo on Turkish Cypriot goods -- allowing the north to export its produce to the EU under preferential terms.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey seized the north in response to a Greek Cypriot coup in Nicosia aimed at uniting the island with Greece.