DENKTAS: ''WE WILL HAVE OUR STATE LIVE TOGETHER WITH TURKEY IF THERE WON'T BE AN AGREEMENT''
LEFKOSA - Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas said on Tuesday that there is not any solution except for having the TRNC continue to exist in cooperation with Turkey if an agreement can't be reached on the Cyprus issue.
Denktas and Greek Cypriot administration leader Glafcos Clerides came together for 52nd time in the buffer zone under the direct talks on Cyprus.
Speaking to reporters prior to the meeting, Denktas said, ''we continue to protect our sovereignty,'' adding that it would be impossible to reach a compromise by ignoring sovereignty.
When recalled of latest statements of Greek Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides, Denktas noted that they would continue discussing ''citizenship'' issue, stressing, ''I don't listen to words expressed out of the table.''
''I will take into consideration the words expressed at the table. If an agreement is reached, it will be reached with the words we express at the table. If peoples of the two sides like this agreement, they will approve it. If the other side does not like and approve it, we will have our state continue to exist and exalt together with Turkey. This does not have any other solution. The state is not given up in no other place in the world as there are problems in the state, economic problems in the country and complaints about the administration.''
Recalling the speech of the Zimbabwean President at the U.N. summit in South Africa, Denktas said, ''he says that they are Zimbabweans and a sovereign state and they are as equal as Europeans and they do not impose their culture on Europeans so Europeans do not have the right to impose their culture on Zimbabwe, but they are ready to cooperate with Europeans under equal conditions. As the Turkish Cypriots, we have been saying the same thing. Greek Cypriots took a title with force of weapons and violence in 1963 and now they still say that it belongs to them and they want to patch us. They should give up this mentality. Then, it is very easy to reach an agreement.''
When asked under what kind of a framework they were discussing on ''citizenship'' issue before a compromise on sovereignty issue, Denktas said, ''when the joint state is founded, the citizens of both of the founder states will at the same time be citizens of the joint state. This means that they accept your citizenship. Sovereignty will be valid for our internal purpose and this will continue to be valid, but citizens of this state will be at the same time citizens of the new Cyprus that will be founded and can get the other state's passport.''
When asked whether or not a step taken in this issue would bring an agreement on issue of sovereignty, Denktas said, ''maybe, there is not any serious difference of opinion.''