According to Ankara Anatolia news agency (16.04.14), Turkey’s European Union Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Wednesday called on the Turkish and Greek Cypriot leaders to accelerate peace talks to end the 40-year division of Cyprus.

“Representatives from both sides should meet at least twice a week and the leaders should meet more often to negotiate and accelerate the process,” Cavusoglu said during a meeting with the self-styled foreign minister Ozdil Nami in Ankara, adding: “We wish to reach a fair and lasting solution within this year.”

Nami, for his part, said that the “Turkish Cypriot government wants to reach a new and comprehensive solution with the joint declaration as ‘a comprehensive solution will integrate the Turkish Cypriot people with the European Union’”.

Meanwhile, former Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat has said that about 80% of the Turkish Cypriots would say “no” to Turkey’s annexation of “northern Cyprus” (editor’s note: the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus) if talks fail to reach a deal on the reunification of the divided island.

When asked to comment on the above comments of Talat, Nami said: “Bonds of love with Turkey does not mean annexation…Turkey has very close ties with many Turkic countries and our ties with Turkey will not break whether there is a federal solution”. “We will either reach a federal solution or continue our existence,” he added.

Meanwhile, Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris Postasi Daily News (online, 17.04.14) reports that during the meeting, Cavusoglu said that they were holding the first work meeting on the protocol which was signed between the Turkish EU Affairs Ministry and the self-styled foreign ministry of “TRNC” (editor’s note: the breakaway regime in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus).

Cavusoglu said: “Within the framework of the signed protocol there are many works regarding the chapters we would like to see be opened between ‘TRNC’ and EU. We will give every support possible for this process. We will share our experiences with each other. We will create common projects together, and will work on finding a financial support for the projects”.
Speaking during the meeting, Nami said: “As Turkish Cypriot government we support the joint declaration and we want the comprehensive solution to be reached in the framework of the declaration. Certainly solution will make the EU an inseparable part of the Turkish Cypriots’ daily life. The Turkish Cypriots will take their position in the EU institutions and in the federal structure that will be formed. This is an important process”.

Nami also stated that the EU is not supporting the Turkish Cypriots in this process so they value their cooperation with Turkey.