NICOSIA, Aug 25 (AFP) - Trade has started to trickle across Cyprus's dividing line for the first time in 30 years but the Greek Cypriots Wednesday claimed their Turkish Cypriot counterparts were breaking the rules.
Formal trade between the two sides of the divided island resumed after decades of inactivity on Monday when new European Union regulations came into force.
For the first time since the Turkish invasion of 1974 split Cyprus in two goods from the Turkish-held north can now be legally sold in or exported from the Greek Cypriot south.
Commerce and Tourism Minister George Lillikas said Wednesday that so far, two Greek Cypriot trucks had travelled north to bring back water melons and a Turkish Cypriot lorry came south to deliver gardening soil.
The lack of traffic is not significant -- the fact there is some movement is seen as a test of each side's willingness to cooperate.
However, Lillikas accused the Turkish Cypriot authorities of trying to bend the rules. A row erupted after a fish truck was denied entry into the south because under the EU rules no animals or animal produce are allowed over.
The Turkish Cypriots argued that fish should be treated differently and complained to the European Commission representation in Nicosia, which turned them down.
Lillikas blamed Ali Erel, head of the Turkish Cypriot chamber of commerce, for stirring up a "climate of mistrust" to keep both communities apart.
He accused Erel of "deliberately" allowing the fish to travel, knowing the cargo would be rejected, to make Greek Cypriots look like the villains.
All goods and products are governed by EU health and safety standards and must be of Turkish Cypriot origin with certificates issued by the north's chamber of commerce.
However, consultations are still continuing with Turkish Cypriot authorities to allow Greek Cypriot goods to go the other way.
EU citizens, including Cypriots, have been able to move freely between the north and south, and the Greek Cypriot authorites launched their own initiative to allow Turkish Cypriot trucks, taxis and buses to cross over to encourage greater contact.
Since Cyprus joined the EU on May 1, the legal status of the ceasefire line has been a tricky issue for the bloc.
But Brussels vowed to help ease Turkish Cypriot economic isolation after the Greek Cypriots overwhelmingly rejected a UN reunification plan in April, leaving the north out in the cold.
For the Green Line not to be classed as an EU external border, Brussels approved measures to ease trade restrictions and allow Turkish Cypriot goods to cross the line and be exported into Europe.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkish troops invaded the northern third following a coup in Nicosia aimed at union with Greece.