ANKARA - Justice and Development Party (AK Party) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that he thought that settlement of Cyprus issue was closer than ever.
Speaking at the group meeting of his party, Erdogan said, ''the last plan seems like a plan aiming at removing concerns of the parties put forth in the former negotiation process as far as possible.''
Erdogan hoped that the new plan which United Nations (U.N.) Secretary General Kofi Annan was trying to shape up ''would be the plan which could be easily negotiable and was the closest to realities in the island.''
He expressed his views during this meeting with the Secretary General that the new plan should regard existence cause of Turkish Cypriot people and it should be the most realistic plan, Erdogan said.
Erdogan noted that the views they voiced during their meeting in New York in December 2002 were taken into consideration in the new plan.
Views of both parties were included and he was pleased to see that a plan which foresaw a settlement in the direction of those views and which was open to negotiations had been shaped up, stated Erdogan.
Erdogan pointed out that he had not seen whole of the new plan yet and therefore, it was not right and possible to say definite and binding things.
The new plan could also have acceptable and unacceptable sides, stressed Erdogan.
Erdogan said, ''we cannot say anything about this issue since we have not seen the plan yet. But, according to information we have received so far, the last plan seems like a plan aiming at removing concerns of the parties put forth in the former negotiation process as far as possible.''
On the content of the new plan, Erdogan said, ''the new plan points to two founder states and a partnership state or states depending on that. It foresees 29.2 percent territory for Turkish side. This rate is parallel to what had earlier been voiced by the Turkish side and the 29 plus discourse which was accepted. An approach which gives the authority and decision to component state about granting political citizenship to migrants passing to the other side is assumed regarding the issue of migrants. It says that Turkey and Greece can each deploy six thousand soldiers in the island.''
Erdogan drew the attention to importance of the referendum to be held in both of the sides on March 31, 2003 and said, ''if the plan is completed in a ground which strengthens these qualities, I guess a solution is closer than ever in Cyprus.''
AK Party leader Erdogan concluded his speech on Cyprus issue by the words that Annan expressed during their Monday's meeting who said, ''I hope developments in Iraq will not affect our efforts regarding Cyprus issue. If we can settle this issue, we can give an important message to the world. We can give an important and strong message to the whole world that problems can be solved and peace can be made permanent through dialogue, agreement, negotiation and at the table.''
(BRC-AÖ) 25.02.2003