LEFKOSA - ''We are ready to discuss changes to Annan Plan and to present a proposal for changes,'' Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat said on Monday.
Talat, in an interview he made to Fileleftheros newspaper published in southern Cyprus, said Greek Cypriot side should decide what it wants, and stated that everybody was expecting Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos and Greek Cypriot leadership to tell what they want.
Asked if TRNC was ready to sit at negotiation table and discuss changes pertaining to Annan Plan, Talat said, ''of course we will discuss the proposals of Papadopoulos if he has. Naturally we will present our own proposals.''
Talat said negotiations regarding Cyprus question should be done under the UN umbrella, not the EU.
In his message to Greek Cypriot side, Talat said both he and most of the Turkish Cypriots wanted solution of Cyprus question and that they wanted to get an equal political share in future of Cyprus.
Talat said small arrangements like opening of passage points, direct trade, and Green Line Regulation constituted temporary measures, and that they were not much interested in those measures.
''Our actual target is unification of the island,'' Talat stressed and noted that, ''it is obvious that Greek Cypriot government wants to obstruct contacts between the two societies.''
(AY-AÖ) 01.11.2004