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President of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Mehmet Ali Talat: â€œFederative state referendum is expected in Cyprus next yearâ€

18 July 2009 10:55 (UTC +04:00)

According to APA, TRNC won its independence in 1974 after Turkeyâ€™s interference in the processes in the region. The Turkish people supported then-UN Secretary General Kofi Annanâ€™s peace plan in 2004, but Greeks voted against it, which led the conflict to the new phase of the problem. Despite that the Turkish people supported peace, EU imposed embargo against the Turkish part of the island. There is no decision by UN General Assembly and EU organizations about the embargo, but it is implemented in fact, said Talat. He reminded about the unique embargo imposed by FIFA against TRNC, which prevented the country not only from the international, but also from the friendly tournaments. He said they expected some results from the negotiations with Greek part of the island in 2010. They are negotiating the issues of sharing government and forces, property, security, insurance, as well as EU integration issues. Talat emphasized that if there is no pressure by the international community, the Greek part will not be interested in the solution of the issue because it is already a member of the European Union.
Answering the question on Turkey and Greeceâ€™s positions regarding the solution to the conflict, TRNC President noted that Turkey supported the settlement of the problem: â€œEvent Turkish President Abdullah Gul stated that Turkey wanted an agreement by the end of 2009. But we are not sure that the opposite side also wants the same, because the Greek side said that there cannot be any agreement by the end of 2009â€.