ANKARA - Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis has said that there ''might probably'' be a compromise on U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan's re-arranged Cyprus plan by February 28, 2003.
Together with Republican People's Party (CHP) deputy Sukru Elekdag and author Baskin Oran, Yakis attended a programme on CNN-Turk channel on Sunday.
Noting that Annan had given time to sides until February 28 as the sides had failed to find a solution to the Cyprus issue until Copenhagen summit, Yakis said that Cyprus had been invited to the European Union (EU) membership at the summit and stressed that the summit final statement did not use the expression of ''Cyprus Republic''.
If the sides reached a solution until February 28, Cyprus which was two-part inside, would be a member as a single Cyprus abroad as it was foreseen in Annan's plan, Yakis said and noted, ''if the sides fail to reach a solution, the Greek Cypriot side in the 1960 agreements joins the EU alone as the representative of whole island.''
''If the latter happens, the EU takes a sick child into its arms. And in this case, there is the danger that the Turkish Armed Forces would be tried to be shown as if it had occupied some part of the EU territories,'' Yakis stressed.
Meanwhile, Baskin Oran recalled that at the Helsinki summit in 1999, it had been decided that Aegean problems should be solved by 2004 and Greek Cypriot side would join the EU alone even if a solution was not found to the Cyprus issue.
''By acting in a rational and reasonable way, Turkey will say 'yes' to revised form of Annan's plan on February 28,'' Oran said.
Meanwhile, Elekdag said Annan's plan included five negative points which were sovereignty, political equality, bi-zone, property and territory.
Noting that the plan was far away from satisfying the Turkish side, Elekdag said, ''this situation strengthened Greek Cypriots very much. So can you expect Greek Cypriots to negotiate the issue? How can you say 'yes' in this situation? It is very difficult to say 'yes' to Annan's plan.''
Later, Yakis said that Greek Cypriot administration leader Glafcos Clerides had not signed the plan at the Copenhagen summit.
''If Clerides had signed this plan in Copenhagen, we should have to decide on this issue within half an hour. However, we have now forty-eight days. On February 28, as the government, we will probably do what Mr. Oran mentioned. As the government, we will probably reach a compromise. We cannot say 'I give it to you, take it' as we have the two-thirds majority in the parliament. We will take this decision as the government, opposition, Turkish Cypriots and non-governmental organizations,'' Yakis noted.
Replying a question, Yakis said that Justice and Development Party (AK Party) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan had not called EU Commissioner Guenter Verheugen for enlargement ''rude''.
''I comfirm this because I was accompanying Mr. Erdogan. He definitely did not use such a word,'' Yakis added.