Friday, 30 October 2009
Turkish Cypriot President Mehmet Ali Talat said Friday it would be hard to reach a peace settlement to Cyprus problem by the end of this year.
"It seems that the goal to reach a solution in a short period of time has been put off," Talat told a news conference after his meeting with Turkish President Abdullah Gul in the Turkish capital Ankara.
President Talat of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, or TRNC, and Greek Cypriot leader Demetris Christofias have launched peace talks in September 2008 to reunify the island which is divided since 1974. Their 13-month U.N.-supervised talks have not concluded yet. "We did our best to see a solution this year," Talat said. "But we suggested intensified negotiations and talks on a deadline. However, Greek Cypriots evaded."
Talat accused Greek Cypriot side of dragging the peace process out and ending up talks with a selfish solution by exploiting Turkey's relations with EU and using their EU membership.
Talat expressed hope to reach a settlement by the beginning of 2010 just before the presidential election in TRNC, saying Turkish Cypriot side has been trying to give momentum to talks considering Greek Cypriot concerns as long as they are reasonable.
"Talks cannot go on forever and we really need a timetable," Talat said.
Asked if he discussed a new road map for Cyprus problem with Turkish President Gul or if he had a B plan in case of a failure in talks, Talat said there was nothing such a new road map.
"We just discussed the level we reached through the negotiations," he said. "But of course, we have alternatives if the process comes to a deadlock."
Following the news conference, Talat returned to TRNC.
