Cyprus PIO: Turkish Press and Other Media, 02-07-18

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From: The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office Server at <http://www.pio.gov.cy/>

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Denktas repeats his known views.

[02] Cyprus: Denktas cancels 17 July speech due to food poisoning; reported to be well.

[03] Delegations from twenty-five countries will allegedly participate in the 20 July celebrations for the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974; Tayyibe Gulen among the visitors.

[04] Turkish aircrafts violate the airspace of Cyprus; Turkish war ships are arriving today in occupied Kyrenia.

[05] Mehmet Ali Talat met with Lord David Hannay in London.

[B] COMMENTS AND EDITORIALS

[06] STAR: 'Hawkish' Gurel comment on ties abroad hints change in policy 'Nuances'.

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] Denktas repeats his known views

Claiming that the two sides' views were diametrically opposite to each other Denktas alleged that the Greek Cypriot side was blocking the progress in the talks. Denktas went on and claimed that because of the outside interventions from the UN Security Council and the EU the request to meet face to face without any preconditions has started to change its meaning.

[02] Cyprus: Denktas cancels 17 July speech due to food poisoning; reported to be well

Denktas also cancelled the meeting with President Clerides, which was scheduled for this morning, NTV (18.07.02) reported at 10:00.

[03] Delegations from twenty five countries will allegedly participate in the 20 July celebrations for the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974; Tayyibe Gulen among the visitors

The delegations come from the following countries: Turkey, England, Georgia, Belgium, France, Canada, Independent Republic of Crimea, Israel, Austria, Qatar, Pakistan, Germany, Italy, People's Republic of China, Ireland, Iran, Belarus, Lebanon, Palestine, FYROM, Oman, Bahrain, India, Azerbaijan and Egypt.

The guests will meet today with the so-called "Foreign Affairs And Defense Minister" Tahsin Ertugruloglu and the so-called "Assembly Speaker" Vehbi Zeki Serter. On Friday and Sunday they will have separate meetings with Turkish Cypriot leader, Rauf Denktas and so-called "Prime Minister", Dervis Eroglu.

Meanwhile, among the illegal visitors for the 20 July celebrations will be Turkey's newly appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sukru Sina Gurel, the State Minister responsible for Cyprus, Tayyibe Gulek and the Minister of Public Works and Housing, Abdulkadir Akcan.

[04] Turkish aircrafts violate the airspace of Cyprus; Turkish war ships are arriving today in occupied Kyrenia

Furthermore, today ships of the Turkish Military Navy are expected to arrive today in the occupied Kyrenia harbour.

[05] Mehmet Ali Talat met with Lord David Hannay in London

Talat said that the Cyprus problem and Cyprus' process of being a member into EU comes to an end. These are the developments, which are known by everybody except the Turkish side. The Turkish side has been locked into when Turkey will be given a date for a meeting with the EU, using Cyprus as a trump card. Turkey, in order to get a date for a meeting with the EU, is using the Cyprus problem instead of fulfilling her obligations according the Copenhagen criteria.

[B] COMMENTS AND EDITORIALS

[06] STAR: 'Hawkish' Gurel comment on ties abroad hints change in policy 'Nuances'

"Standoffs in domestic politics are sure to affect foreign policy as well. However, only time will show how much of this effect will be "harmful" and how much will be "advantageous".

Still, certain predictions can be made.

The first issue is the dialogue between Turkey and Greece into which [former] Foreign Minister Ismail Cem had placed his "personal weight".

Even if the process emerged as a "Cem-Papandreou" dialogue at first, it evolved into an "institutional" one with the pressure put on by Foreign Ministry undersecretaries. Nevertheless, we probably would not be mistaken if we said the Greeks were those most disturbed by Cem's resignation from his duty as Foreign Minister and Sukru Sina Gurel's appointment in his place.

Gurel's "hawkish" approach to Turkish-Greek relations, which was left over from his life as a scholar and continued throughout his political career as well as while he served as minister, is very influential. Indeed, that Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou was the first to send Gurel a "welcome" letter is the most concrete proof of the concern felt.

That in his letter to Turkey's new Foreign Minister Papandreou conveyed the message, "The dialogue we have initiated is not one between Cem and Papandreou. We are ready to continue and further the dialogue with your leadership as well," can be considered an "olive branch" extended by Athens. What Gurel's approach to the offered olive branch will be is an issue of curiosity not only in Athens but in all European capitals and in Washington too.

The second concern aroused by Cem's resignation from his duty as minister and Gurel's replacement of him has to do with the future of relations between Turkey and the EU.

Everyone is curious to know whether or not Gurel will keep up the "hawkish" stance, which he has been holding since the day he entered cabinet, while he is Foreign Minister.

It is possible to find the first clues of this in the first statement issued by the new Foreign Minister:

In the first announcement he made as Foreign Minister Gurel said there would not be a "difference" in the direction of Turkish foreign policy. However, he signalled, "nuances would change" such that:

For a start he said, "We will continue heading towards our EU goal without making any concessions from our national interests or our honourable foreign policy". However, the sentence he uttered immediately afterwards -- "even if there would not be a change in the basic direction" -- implied that there would be very important "nuances":

"Our European friends have also started to accept that there is no connection between resolving the Cyprus issue and progress in the process of Turkey's membership to the EU. Actually the direct link is between Turkey's membership to the EU and Cyprus' membership to the Union."

It is quite obvious that, with this sentence, the new Foreign Minister is referring to the guarantee agreements stating that Cyprus cannot be a member of any international organization to which Turkey and Greece are not both members.

However, the question to be asked immediately after this is, "What if the EU does not take into account the guarantee agreements, which it did not pay heed to while commencing membership negotiations with the Greek Cypriots, while deciding on enlargement in December?" This is the issue that will really trouble Turkey and block its path.

When looked at from this perspective, this key sentence in Gurel's statement can even be perceived as a threat that Ankara might unilaterally "fully discard" Turkey's goal of EU membership if the EU accepts the Greek Cypriots to full membership.

The outcome of such a decision would affect not only our future but that of our children too.

Another priority issue in Gurel's Foreign Ministry will undoubtedly be relations with the United States.

For now, Washington is refraining from adopting either an unofficial or official approach toward the break up of the Democratic Left Party, the erosion of the government and the new formation that has emerged. They do not go any further than expressing "concern" through newspapers or "anonymous" American officials.

However, there are two very important visits that will determine Washington's attitude toward Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, his minister Gurel and the current government: American Deputy Secretary of State Marc Grossman and Deputy Secretary of Defence Paul Wolfowitz, known as the one person in Washington leading the "most hawkish" policy against Saddam Hussein, are in Ankara this week.

The weightiest dossier in the briefcases of both officials is expected to be the one concerning an American operation on Iraq. However, it is said that the second dossier will definitely concern Turkey's goal of EU membership.

It is expected that the attitude the government will adopt toward these dossiers and the message it will convey will be so important as to affect the future of not only the current government but that of the new formation led by the Cem-Ozkan-Dervis triumvirate as well.

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