Post by depletedreasons on May 30, 2008 2:26:18 GMT -5
Turkish Cypriots slam France over military drills
Thursday, May 29, 2008
DIPLOMACY
ISTANBUL - TDN with wire dispatches
A Turkish Cypriot official slammed France yesterday over its decision to take part in military exercises with Greek Cypriots on divided Cyprus, state-run Anatolia news agency reported.
Turgay Avci, Turkish Cypriot foreign minister, denounced France's participation in the June 2-6 drills as a partial stance in favor of the Greek Cypriots at a time when efforts are underway to revive talks to reunify the island.
"France's participation in the exercises cannot be seen as a sign of goodwill at a time when France is preparing to take over the EU presidency and when a negotiation process is underway in Cyprus," he said in an interview, calling on Paris to "carefully review" its decision.
France, a vocal opponent of Turkey's bid to join the European Union, takes over the bloc's rotating presidency in July.
The 34-year division of Cyprus between its Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities remains a major stumbling block for Turkey's accession bid.
The leaders of the rival Cypriot communities agreed last week to hold a new round of talks in June at a meeting aimed at boosting the momentum for a fresh U.N.-brokered push for peace.
The internationally recognized government of Cyprus announced last week it would be holding search and rescue and crisis management exercises involving the sea and air forces of Cyprus, Greece and France.
The drills will be conducted in the south of Greek Cypriot and international waters of the Mediterranean.
Peace talks have stalled since April 2004, when Greek Cypriots overwhelmingly rejected the U.N.-drafted reunification plan, even though Turkish Cypriots backed it.
A divided Cyprus joined the EU in May of that year, leaving the isolated entity in the Turkish Cypriot north, which is recognized only by Ankara, even further isolated.
Turkey says has French assurance on EU talks
Meanwhile France has assured Turkey that it intends to advance Ankara's European Union accession negotiations as normal during its six months in the chair from July, Reuters quoted Foreign Minister Ali Babacan as saying yesterday.
"We have been given assurances that the French presidency will be a normal presidency, and they say they hope to continue to open chapters," Babacan told a hearing of the foreign affairs committee of the European Parliament. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has repeatedly said Turkey has no place in the European Union and called for an alternative to full membership for the sprawling and overwhelmingly Muslim nation on Europe's southeastern flank. But Babacan said Paris would continue to open negotiations on new policy areas, known in EU jargon as chapters, during its presidency of the 27-nation bloc. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Monday that of the 35 chapters into which EU law is divided, only five were directly linked to accession and it would take a long time before those subjects were reached.
www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=105797
Thursday, May 29, 2008
DIPLOMACY
ISTANBUL - TDN with wire dispatches
A Turkish Cypriot official slammed France yesterday over its decision to take part in military exercises with Greek Cypriots on divided Cyprus, state-run Anatolia news agency reported.
Turgay Avci, Turkish Cypriot foreign minister, denounced France's participation in the June 2-6 drills as a partial stance in favor of the Greek Cypriots at a time when efforts are underway to revive talks to reunify the island.
"France's participation in the exercises cannot be seen as a sign of goodwill at a time when France is preparing to take over the EU presidency and when a negotiation process is underway in Cyprus," he said in an interview, calling on Paris to "carefully review" its decision.
France, a vocal opponent of Turkey's bid to join the European Union, takes over the bloc's rotating presidency in July.
The 34-year division of Cyprus between its Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities remains a major stumbling block for Turkey's accession bid.
The leaders of the rival Cypriot communities agreed last week to hold a new round of talks in June at a meeting aimed at boosting the momentum for a fresh U.N.-brokered push for peace.
The internationally recognized government of Cyprus announced last week it would be holding search and rescue and crisis management exercises involving the sea and air forces of Cyprus, Greece and France.
The drills will be conducted in the south of Greek Cypriot and international waters of the Mediterranean.
Peace talks have stalled since April 2004, when Greek Cypriots overwhelmingly rejected the U.N.-drafted reunification plan, even though Turkish Cypriots backed it.
A divided Cyprus joined the EU in May of that year, leaving the isolated entity in the Turkish Cypriot north, which is recognized only by Ankara, even further isolated.
Turkey says has French assurance on EU talks
Meanwhile France has assured Turkey that it intends to advance Ankara's European Union accession negotiations as normal during its six months in the chair from July, Reuters quoted Foreign Minister Ali Babacan as saying yesterday.
"We have been given assurances that the French presidency will be a normal presidency, and they say they hope to continue to open chapters," Babacan told a hearing of the foreign affairs committee of the European Parliament. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has repeatedly said Turkey has no place in the European Union and called for an alternative to full membership for the sprawling and overwhelmingly Muslim nation on Europe's southeastern flank. But Babacan said Paris would continue to open negotiations on new policy areas, known in EU jargon as chapters, during its presidency of the 27-nation bloc. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Monday that of the 35 chapters into which EU law is divided, only five were directly linked to accession and it would take a long time before those subjects were reached.
www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=105797