Tag: Eroglu

Turkey ‘not serious’ about match invite

By Jacqueline Agathocleous Published on September 4, 2012

AEL Limassol Europa League match, Cyprus, Fenerbahce, football, government, government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou, President Demetris Christofias, Turkish EU negotiator Egemen Bagis

THE GOVERNMENT yesterday dismissed as ‘cynical and lacking seriousness,’ an informal invitation to President Demetris Christofias from Turkey’s EU negotiator Egemen Bagis to watch AEL Limassol’s Europa League match with Turkish team Fenerbahce together.

Bagis, was quoted in a Turkish daily yesterday saying that Christofias was “looking for a reason to come to Istanbul”.

So he said Christofias should talk to Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu about the possibility of visiting the country together to watch the November 8 match. But under one condition, he added: “I will be happy to be the host provided that they will come together and sit at the same table.”

But the government was not impressed.

“Mr Bagis is attempting to impress by sarcastically sending out a non-serious invitation for a football match,” government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou said yesterday. “This is not serious behaviour from a minister and if the Turkish politicians adopt it, then they too lack seriousness.”

“Mr Eroglu, if he so desires, can watch the AEL-Fenerbahce game which will be played in Cyprus,” said Stefanou. “The President of the Republic and Mr Eroglu can watch it together in their country, as citizens of the Republic of Cyprus.”

Fenerbahce is scheduled to arrive in Cyprus on October 25.

In his interview yesterday, Bagis also raised the possibility of protests against the Turkish club in Cyprus. “When Galatasaray went there, they had major troubles,” Bagis said.

Last year, during a game between Apollon Limassol’s and Galatasaray’s women’s volleyball teams, local fans threw debris onto the court. Similar troubles occurred during a basketball match between APOEL Nicosia and Pinar Karsiyaka.

Bagis gave assurances that the Greek Cypriot team would not face such trouble in Istanbul.

“They should not be worried, they will be hosted in Istanbul in the best way possible,” Bagis said. “I personally guarantee that there will not be any problem.”

via Turkey ‘not serious’ about match invite – Cyprus Mail.

September 5, 2012
“Open-Ended Talks Prevent Solution to Cyprus Question”

President Dervis Eroglu of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) said that going on Cyprus talks in an open-ended way would prevent reaching a solution.

During a meeting on Monday, Eroglu said that there could be a study by a technical committee in order to eliminate the inconsistencies, but a “leaders meeting” was not on the agenda.

Eroglu said that Greek Cypriot leader Demetris Christofias did not accept a multilateral conference on Cyprus issue, and mentioned carrying out open-ended talks.

An open-ended talk would continue 40 more years, and no one could make Turkish Cypriots sit on the negotiation table for another 40 years, he added.

On April 27, UN head’s special Cyprus adviser Alexander Downer said he planned to carry out “a two-week shuttle diplomacy” between Turkish and Greek Cypriot leaders to see if they could agree on methods for a fresh round of settlement negotiations to reunify their island.

“There will be no peace talks between the sides until leaders find a common ground to continue with the negotiations in a fresh round,” Downer noted.

Downer said the UN head had an intention to hold a international conference on the Cyprus issue this summer, adding that Ban’s decision hinged on a “common negotiations ground” between the two leaders that could lead to a comprehensive solution.

AA

May 2, 2012
No blank check for Turkey: Greek Cyprus

NICOSIA

This file photo shows Greek Cyprus’ foreign minister, Kozakou-Marcoullis.

Greek Cyprus’ support of Turkey’s ultimate EU accession process is not a “blank check” as it depends on Turkey’s implementation of all of the bloc’s obligations without any concessions, the country’s foreign ministry has said.

Evaluating the European Commission’s progress report on Turkey released Oct. 12, the ministry said it welcomed the commission’s call for Turkey to increase its efforts for the settlement of the Cyprus problem. However, the Greek Cyprus ministry denied the report’s claim that Turkey was continuing to give public support for talks between the two sides of the island.

“The statements of Turkish Prime Minister [Recep Tayyip Erdoğan] made during his illegal visit to [Turkish] Cyprus in July,” is proof that Turkey is not giving support to the talks, the ministry said. The Mediterranean island has been divided since Turkish troops intervened in 1974 in response to a Greek Cypriot coup seeking union with Greece.

Greek Cyprus also asked the European Union to increase its pressure on Turkey over the Cyprus issue, saying, “The EU ought to make it clear that it is Turkey that is the source of the tension, especially in light of the fact that Turkey has recently intensified its threatening stance in the eastern Mediterranean, creating tension and challenging the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus in a provocative manner and in blatant violation of international law.”

Meanwhile, Turkish Cyprus’ leadership called for domestic support for its agreement allowing Turkey to explore for oil and gas in the Mediterranean.

The Turkish Cypriot Prime Ministry said Oct. 13 that it supported the Continental Shelf Delimitation Agreement signed with Turkey, Anatolia news agency reported Oct. 14.

“Everyone should extend support to the agreement signed with Turkey in order to protect the rights and interests of the Turkish Cypriot people and motherland Turkey,” the Prime Ministry said in a written statement released Oct. 13.

On Sept. 21, Turkey and Turkish Cyprus inked a continental shelf accord in New York to determine their maritime boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean Sea in which the Turkish state oil company will conduct exploratory drilling.

Meanwhile, Turkish Cyprus President Derviş Eroğlu and his Greek counterpart, Demetris Christofias, met in the buffer zone in Nicosia on Oct. 14 as part of intensified talks to find a solution to the Cyprus question. Eroğlu and Christofias will meet twice before holding a tripartite meeting with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in New York at the end of the month.

via No blank check for Turkey: Greek Cyprus – Hurriyet Daily News.

October 15, 2011
Cyprus Reunification Still Stalled

U.N. mediated talks have failed to achieve an agreement to reunify the divided island of Cyprus. This is the third time since November the Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders have met to try to resolve this decades-old problem without success.

Greek Cypriot President Demetris Christofias (L) and Turkish-Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu stand next to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (C) as he gives a statement concluding a meeting at the European headquarters of the UN in Geneva, July 7, 2011

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who mediated this latest round of negotiations, is an unfailing optimist. But even he acknowledges progress in healing the divisions of the island is far too slow.

He says negotiators from the Greek and Turkish Cypriot sides have worked steadily to move ahead since the last meeting in January. Despite this, he says some important areas still have not been touched.

“For this reason, today’s meeting has been useful and productive,” said Ban. “We have identified some of the difficulties that are standing in the ways of reaching a comprehensive agreement, and we have discussed the need to significantly intensify the negotiations. I have also raised with both leaders the importance of looking ahead at the objective rather than focusing on the problem in minute detail.”

Ban says he is impressed with, what he calls, the commitment on both sides to agree on the details to create a united Cyprus.

Cyprus has been divided since Turkey invaded the island in 1974 following a Greek-inspired coup. Thousands of Turkish and Greek Cypriots fled their homes.

Repeated negotiations throughout the succeeding years have failed to achieve a political settlement to bring the two separate communities together. The major issue of contention concerns property rights. A diplomatic solution as to how to reinstate ownership rights to the thousands of people who were forced to abandon their property has not been found.

Other core issues include governance and power sharing, economy, territory and security, citizenship, and European Union membership. The Greek Cypriot part of the island is an EU member, the Turkish part is not.

This is an ongoing bone of contention between the two sides. It also poses problems for Turkey, whose membership aspirations are tied to the re-unification of Cyprus.

Secretary General Ban says the Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders have agreed to intensify their negotiations on the core issues when they return to the island.

“I have every expectation that by October the leaders will be able to report that they have reached convergence on all core issues, and we will meet that month in New York,” added Ban. “This will take the Cyprus negotiations close to their conclusion and would allow me to give a positive report to the Security Council on the matter. It would also pave the way for me to work with the parties towards convening final, international conference.”

Ban says people on both sides of the divide are weary of these endless negotiations. He urges both leaders to renew hope and enthusiasm for a solution.

Some analysts believe the prospect of the Greek Cypriots taking over the six-month rotating EU presidency a year from now might act as an incentive to seal a deal.

via Cyprus Reunification Still Stalled | Europe | English. VOA

July 9, 2011
U.N. chief says peace deal possible between Cyprus and Turkey

By Michele Kambas

Reuters Reuters

NICOSIA: U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon will seek a peace deal within a year from Cypriot leaders engaged in reunification talks Thursday, a source close to the matter said, signalling growing frustration with a slow process that is harming Turkey’s EU ambitions.

Leaders of the estranged Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities have been locked in rounds of negotiations to reunify Cyprus for almost four years, the latest of many previously ill-fated attempts to piece together an island riven by ethnic violence and war.

“By focusing their energy and rising to the occasion this [a deal] could be done in a couple of weeks,” said a person on condition of anonymity.

Ban was scheduled to meet President Demetris Christofias, the Greek Cypriot leader, and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu in Geneva Thursday. Another meeting with the leaders was possible in September, and Ban could also announce he was preparing a report to the Security Council on the state of play in Cyprus negotiations, the source said.

He was expected to seek a commitment from the two that they would ramp up Cyprus-based talks, held in a United Nations compound which forms part of a buffer zone splitting Greek and Turkish Cypriots since a Turkish invasion in 1974 triggered by a brief Greek inspired coup.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Daily Star on July 07, 2011, on page 9.

via THE DAILY STAR :: News :: Middle East :: U.N. chief says peace deal possible between Cyprus and Turkey.

July 7, 2011