Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot and Turkish Media Review, 11-09-07

Cyprus Press and Information Office: Turkish Cypriot Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS

[01] "Don't attempt to test Turkey's past"

[02] The property issue was discussed in the Cyprus talks yesterday; Eroglu asked the postponement on explorations for oil and natural gas

[03] The Turkish Premier described Israel as an "arrogant boy"

[04] Bahceli said that Turkey's zero problems policy failed

[05] The Turkish Parliament Speaker to illegally visit the occupied area on Friday

[06] Electricity supply extended for another six months

[07] Aslanbaba considers of resigning from the UBP

[08] The Premiers of Turkey and Spain attended the 3rd Intergovernmental Summit

[09] The Prime Minister of Luxembourg to visit Turkey

[10] Columnist views developments in Turkish-Israeli ties

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS

The escalated tension between Turkey and Israel, statements by Turkey's Energy Minister Taner Yildiz on the exploration activities for natural resources in Eastern Mediterranean sea, the arrival of the Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luiz Rodriguez Zapatero in Ankara and his meeting with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the upcoming visit of Luxembourg's Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker to Turkey on September 8, and other internal issues are some of the main stories covered by today's Turkish dailies today.

[01] "Don't attempt to test Turkey's past"

"That would be a risky move," Minister Taner Yildiz said during an interview on private channel CNNTurk while commenting on the Greek Cypriot decision regarding the East Mediterranean. Yildiz's comments were in response to previous remarks by the Cypriot Foreign Minister, who said that "Turkey would not dare to do anything."

Yildiz said no oil exploration could be conducted in the area, because the region's borders remained undetermined and that Cyprus' idea to explore for oil and gas was like Turkey sending the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) to explore for oil in Thessaloniki without striking any agreements.

"I say this noting that we, too, could have rights in a Mediterranean area whose exclusive economic zones and borders are as yet undetermined. They cannot conduct explorations just by signing deals with firms," Yildiz claimed.

[02] The property issue was discussed in the Cyprus talks yesterday; Eroglu asked the postponement on explorations for oil and natural gas

Eroglu reiterated that they have not discussed the issue of the return of occupied Keryneia and argued that this news is due to misinformation by some Greek Cypriot dailies. He said: "However, as far as I understood, TAK [Tr. Note: Illegal TAK news agency] broadcasted this information as if it was its own news and the misinformation came to surface. We have not discussed at all with esteemed Christofias the issue of Keryneia. We have not entered into any debate on the issue of Keryneia. I felt the need to clarify this so that it is known".

Noting that they discussed technical issues and submitted to each other proposals on the property chapter, Eroglu said the sides will evaluate these proposals today and during their meeting tomorrow they will see whether they can conclude the issue. He recalled that the leaders agreed on principle that the map and the numbers will be the last issues of discussion in the property and territory chapters.

Asked whether there was a new proposal yesterday, Eroglu said he did not want to enter into details and reiterated that the sides submitted to each other some proposals which they will discuss among themselves.

Responding to a question as to whether the issue of the explorations for oil and natural gas came onto the agenda yesterday, Eroglu said that he felt the need to make a statement on the issue once more yesterday, because this issue had been discussed in their previous meeting. He reiterated that they asked the postponement of the explorations for oil and natural gas as long as the intensified negotiations are held. He argued that such actions will negatively influence the negotiations and concluded: "We shall see. October the 1st is coming".

Meanwhile, according to Havadis (07.09.11), Eroglu is expected to brief the self-styled council of ministers of the breakaway regime today on the latest developments in the Cyprus talks.

(I/Ts.)

[03] The Turkish Premier described Israel as an "arrogant boy"

When asked whether "one of the steps announced was that every measure [will be] taken to ensure freedom of navigation in the Eastern Mediterranean and that this might lead to conflict or various different situations", Erdogan replied: "The Eastern Mediterranean is not foreign to us. Aksaz, Iskenderun [Alexandretta]--we have the strength, the means, and the right to keep a watch over these places. Obviously, henceforth, our ships will make themselves visible much more frequently in those waters. We will see these ships very frequently."

[04] Bahceli said that Turkey's zero problems policy failed

Bahceli on Tuesday released a written statement on worsening Turkish-Israeli ties. Bahceli accused the Government of trying to keep a recent deal to establish a NATO radar system in Turkey off the agenda by assuming a "fake anti-Israeli stance."

"It becomes clearer day by day that the [Justice and Development Party] AKP mentality, which is failing to get its proposals accepted in the international arena, is resorting to fake enmity with Israel in order to maintain support in domestic politics and to prevent debates over the missile shield project. If the AKP is playing the Israel card to gloss over the missile shield issue and to change the agenda, this plan will be soon exposed and AKP will pay the price for that," Bahceli said.

Bahceli added that it is unacceptable for the AKP to drag Turkey into "the midst of the storm." "We see the fact that Turkey has become a country having problems with all its neighbours rather than a country with zero problems with its neighbours as obvious proof that the Government's foreign policies have gone bankrupt," he said.

[05] The Turkish Parliament Speaker to illegally visit the occupied area on Friday

According to the paper, right after his arrival at the illegal Tymbou airport, Cicek will first visit and place a wreath on the monuments of Dr Fazil Kucuk and Kemal Ataturk in the occupied part of Lefkosia. Then, a tete-a-tete meeting between Cicek and the self-styled parliament speaker Hasan Bozer will be held. In parallel, a meeting between the Turkish Parliament delegation and a delegation from the illegal parliament will be also held. Afterwards, Cicek is set to meet with self-styled prime minister Irsen Kucuk and afterwards he will pay a visit to the illegal Turkish embassy.

In the afternoon, Cicek will meet with the Commander of the Turkish occupation forces in Cyprus, Adem Huduti. Later, Cicek and his accompanying delegation will meet with Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu and then the Turkish Parliament delegation will depart from the occupied area.

[06] Electricity supply extended for another six months

Atun added that the electricity to be provided will be up to 120 MW and he reiterated that the price will depend on the changes of the prices of the exchange rate and the crude oil.

[07] Aslanbaba considers of resigning from the UBP

Aslanbaba noted that if Kucuk does not publicly announce the establishment of this committee by the 15th of September, he will "re-examine" his duties in the UBP.

Aslanbaba was elected with the Democratic Party (DP), but he resigned and remained independent for a period of time after which he joined UBP.

(I/Ts.)

[08] The Premiers of Turkey and Spain attended the 3rd Intergovernmental Summit

Spanish companies are eager to strengthen cooperation with Turkish companies in air and maritime transportation, and some of them are reportedly willing to sell military ships to Turkey. Updating the flight frequency between the two countries and increasing the number of flights between Spain and Turkey was also on the agenda of the summit.

Erdogan stressed that Turkish-Spanish relations are developing in every sphere, particularly in the areas of economy, security, defence industry and energy. Noting that there is a very rich potential in trade between the two countries, the Turkish Prime Minister said while trade relations was $3.7 billion in 2003, it will hopefully reach to $10 billion by the end of this year.

Erdogan said both Spain and Turkey share the same views as two Mediterranean nations on totalitarian regimes in the Arab world. Both Erdogan and Zapatero lauded the Palestinian's UN statehood bid in September. Zapatero said Spain's sympathy and support for Palestine is very clear and said Spain is working in this regard.

"I hope those who want to put out new alternatives at a time of changes in the Arab world will look at Turkey with one of their eyes," Zapatero said and added that Spain wants to see Turkey in the European Union in the near future. "I have a promise to Mr. Erdogan. I have always supported Turkey and I will always support. No matter if I am a Prime Minister or not," Zapatero underlined.

Erdogan and Zapatero are also the co-sponsors of the UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAoC) initiative, launched in 2005 under the aegis of the then-UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

[09] The Prime Minister of Luxembourg to visit Turkey

Luxembourg's Minister of National Education & Professional Training Mady Delvaux-Stehres and several high-level officials would accompany Juncker during his visit which is important as it will be the first visit in prime ministerial level from Luxembourg to Turkey after eight years.

Relations between the two countries, the EU, the Cyprus problem, as well as regional and international matters will be high on the agenda of the meetings. The global economic crisis and recent economic developments will also be discussed during the meetings as Juncker is also the President of Eurogroup.

[10] Columnist views developments in Turkish-Israeli ties

Erdogan looked frustrated when he was asked about his possible trip to the Hamas-held Palestinian territory of Gaza. He said he did not make a decision yet. Experienced reporters knew that it was already a problematic plan as Egypt was not volunteering for another conflict with Israel over Palestinians after the fatal incidents last week and while a regime change is ongoing in Cairo.

That was not the only problem with the five-point set of measures against Israel announced by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu over the weekend. A number of Turkish foreign policy and international experts, who yesterday commented on taking the case to the International Court of Justice, or ICJ, said that it was not an easy process like applying to any criminal court. It needed a tough United Nations process beforehand, where the possible U.S. backing of Israel is likely to block it. Moreover, neither Israel nor Turkey recognize ICJ rulings.

It was important that Erdogan made those statements after having a rather long meeting with Foreign Minister Davutoglu and Foreign Ministry diplomats the night before. So it might be understood that Ankara decided to burn the bridges between Israel and itself.

Not exactly. Around one hour after Erdogan's statements, sources from the Prime Minister's office leaked to media that Erdogan did not mean to freeze economic relations, but only military ones.

By that time, and it was still mid-day, news agencies started to report that the fall in Tel Aviv stock exchange had hit 9% in two days, triggered by the statements of the Israeli Central Bank Governor Stanley Fischer, who said that escalated tension with Turkey might be costly for the Israeli economy.

It can be concluded, in reference to the nature of Ankara politics, that Erdogan's early correction was a step saving the opponent from a further depreciation and an effort to avoid burning all bridges. Behind all those strong words, there is still room to maneuver." TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION http://www.moi.gov.cy/pio

EG/

Cyprus Press and Information Office: Turkish Cypriot Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article