NEW YORK - President Rauf Denktas of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) said on Tuesday that the Turkish side was not pleased with the U.N. Cyprus plan's part about distribution of territory, adding, ''I don't suppose any side is happy with that.''
Following a meeting on evaluation of the plan with Turkish officials, Denktas answered questions of Turkish and Greek Cypriot correspondents.
Denktas said that the plan included positive and also negative things about both the Turkish and Greek Cypriot sides.
''Undoubtedly, the plan includes very important aspects, especially about the territory issue. I don't suppose that any of the sides is satisfied with the factors about the territory issue. We will look at this part of the issue with a humane approach and under the revolution that has happened on Cyprus in last forty years. You can't act and behave in a way as if nothing had happened on Cyprus and you can't normalize everything,'' he said.
Recalling that Annan had asked them not to make hasty statements about the plan, Denktas said, ''we carefully read and consider every aspect of the plan as a whole.''
''However, at the moment, I can't do this because I am very far way from my advisors, government members and party leaders. I can do these when I return to Cyprus. I hope that I would return to the island in the weekend. We will carefully study and observe the plan. I am sure that my friends in Cyprus are now doing the same thing. We will make a joint statement at the end of these,''. he said.
When recalled of participation of some U.N. officials in the evaluation meeting, Denktas said, ''we got information from them. We asked them questions about the issues about which we want clarification and we got reply. It was a very beneficial meeting.''
Meanwhile, Denktas added that the news that he would have a meeting with De Soto on Wednesday was baseless.
COSAR: IT'S A VERY IMPORTANT OPPORTUNITY FOR FUTURE OF TURKISH CYPRIOTS
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) deputy Prime Minister and State Minister Salih Cosar has said that the plan on solution to the Cyprus issue that the United Nations had presented to the sides on Monday was a ''very important opportunity for the future of the Turkish Cypriots''.
Releasing a statement on Tuesday, Cosar said that the plan included Secretary General Kofi Annan's opinions about the Cyprus issue and that while preparing this plan, Annan had made use of opinions of the United States and European Union member countries and received those countries' support.
Noting that the plan should include several scenarios that could fill the gaps that appeared during the ten-month face-to-face talks, Cosar said that there had been gaps in many concepts during the talks.
''At the stage we have reached today, it seems that most of the insistences, especially sovereignty issue that our President has put forward have been accepted. This plan talks about political equality. There are two parliaments in the central government. The points about functioning of these two parliaments show that the Turkish side is granted veto right. There is rotating presidency and there is rotating prime ministry. All of these prove that great progress has been recorded in political equality,'' he said.
Noting that opinions mentioned in the plan were not like ''accept or reject'', Cosar said, ''it would be true to express our good will about the issue.'' Cosar stressed that expression of good will did not mean acceptance of the plan as it was and that it was an issue of bargaining.
He said that TRNC President Rauf Denktas would rapidly observe the plan and make consultations with the Turkish Foreign Ministry's Cyprus Desk.