Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot and Turkish Media Review, 14-12-04

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

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS

[01] Turkey EU Minister's contacts in the breakaway regime

[02] Olgun: A fatigue is being experienced on the Cyprus problem

[03] Ozyigit: The "elections" should not be used as pretext for wasting four months in the negotiations

[04] "Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Industry" wants the right of inspection of halloumi in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus

[05] A cooperation protocol on the environment between Turkey and the "TRNC"

[06] Sertoglu: We want our rights from CFA

[07] Economical dimensions to the transfer of "deputies" in Turkish Cypriot political parties

[08] Feasibility works on a trolley project in occupied Famagusta

[09] "The Turks and the Russians: Business as usual"

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS

[01] Turkey EU Minister's contacts in the breakaway regime

During his meeting with the Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu, Bozkir said the following: "The Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu will be visiting Greece this weekend and 3 Commissioners from the EU will be in Turkey at the beginning of next week. The Italian and British Prime Ministers and the Lithuanian President are also expected to visit Ankara in the coming days. I wanted to visit the TRNC ahead of these visits to assess the situation on the island and to determine future steps".

Bozkir said that the natural gas off the coast of Cyprus belongs to all inhabitants on the island. Claiming that the Greek Cypriot side "continues to maintain its illegal stance on the issue", and calling the actions of the Republic of Cyprus "unilateral actions which are illegal and a violation of international law", Bozkir alleged: "Barbaros Hayrettin Pasa Seismic Research Ship is here upon a request by the TRNC and will continue to remain here".

He further said that the Republic of Cyprus is blocking 17 chapters in Turkey's negotiation process and alleged the following: "Until now we rejected elements regarding a Cyprus settlement to be linked with Turkey's membership process. That's why the chapters have been blocked. Linking the elements of the two separate negotiations processes will only create further complications for a Cyprus settlement. We have been refusing to link the two for the past 8 years and we see no reason to change that today. The Greek Cypriot Administration may continue to pursue its stance but opening new chapters is the EU's responsibility" he claimed.

For his part, Eroglu said that Turkey is going through a busy phase in terms of diplomacy. "This visit ahead of the Turkish Prime Minister's visit to Athens is very important. There are issues related to EU matters which we need to discuss. We shall find an opportunity to discuss and consult on these issues" he said.

Bozkir also met with the self-styled prime minister Ozkan Yorgancioglu. The meeting focused on the Cyprus negotiations process as well as the on-going efforts to harmonize existing "laws" in the breakaway regime with the acquis. They also discussed the water transfer project and the latest situation regarding the hydrocarbon exploration issue".

Touching upon the issue of hydrocarbons, Bozkir said that he will be looking into formulas to deal with the crisis but added that the ultimate goal was to settle the Cyprus problem. On his part Yorgancioglu said that there is a concerted effort to harmonize the "existing laws" in the breakaway regime with EU laws as well as to take steps towards economic development. "We want to benefit from Bozkir's experiences on these issues" he said.

Bozkir also met with the self-styled foreign minister Ozdil Nami. The Turkish Minister repeated that he would be sharing Turkey's EU membership process experiences with Nami as well as how to conduct more effective work within the EU institutions on behalf of the breakaway regime. Alleging that the Republic of Cyprus was using its EU membership to set obstacles in the way of Turkey's EU membership bid, Bozkir said that Turkey will not allow issues pertaining to the Cyprus problem be linked to Turkey's accession process.

Nami and Bozkir also visited the Ledra Street barricade.

Bozkir also held meetings with the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce and the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Industry in the afternoon.

[02] Olgun: A fatigue is being experienced on the Cyprus problem

In a statement made yesterday to a television station, Olgun was asked to say whether the countries involved in the Cyprus problem know what they want. Arguing that we have come to a turning point on the Cyprus problem, Olgun claimed that there are some international players, who, for various reasons, have benefited from the status quo in the past. "However, now the hydrocarbon discovery and the powerlessness in Northern Africa and the Middle East have brought out a new paradigm", he argued expressing the view that everybody will be annoyed if the "passive Cyprus dispute" passes into another level.

Olgun alleged that we are at a turning point at which the Greek Cypriots will come face to face with a "sincerity test" and the pressure on them to make a choice will increase within the forthcoming period. He claimed: "Are they really ready to share power or what they want is to be the master of themselves in their own territory? They have to decide this".

Olgun expressed the view that catalyzers are needed for changing the status quo in Cyprus and the discovery of hydrocarbon resources is one of them. He alleged that the [illegal] explorations of Barbaros Hayrettin Pasa vessel [in Cyprus' Exclusive Economic Zone] "have given life and meaning" to this discovery, "because it forces the Greek Cypriot side to think twice on the issue of its unilateral initiatives". Olgun claimed that in case Barbaros had not been in the area, the Greek Cypriots would have used the hydrocarbons as a trump card against the Turkish Cypriots.

"We will not allow for the connection between the hydrocarbons and the negotiating process to be cut off", he said.

Responding to a question, Olgun noted that Espen Barth Eide is "very well chosen" for the post of the UN Secretary-General's Special Adviser on Cyprus and added that Eide has a "neutral and mature" point of view.

(I/Ts.)

[03] Ozyigit: The "elections" should not be used as pretext for wasting four months in the negotiations

Ozyigit expressed the view that the negotiations could resume in January-February after President Anastasiades recovers and added that the stance of the Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu, who has announced his candidacy in the April 2015 "elections" in the occupied area of Cyprus, is important. Ozyigit said that they worry that the "elections" will be used as a pretext for wasting four more months in the negotiations.

Ozyigit noted that both Eroglu and President Anastasiades should know that every day which passes without a solution to the Cyprus problem is against the Cypriots and they will both be responsible for this.

Ozyigit expressed the view that instead of making a showdown or a quarrel for becoming regional leader, diplomatic initiatives are needed for overcoming the problem and within this framework the negotiators should come together and make preparations until the meeting of the leaders.

Ozyigit commented on the Turkish Cypriot negotiator Ergun Olgun's statement that "preparations for a possible non-solution of the Cyprus problem should be made" and said that politicians, who have never believed in the federal solution and have the mentality saying that the "non-solution is the solution", took the opportunity of this climate of crisis and revealed their wish.

(I/Ts.)

[04] "Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Industry" wants the right of inspection of halloumi in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus

Cirali said that the industrial management and the inspection of halloumi should be given to the "KTSO". Noting that the Cyprus Government applied to the EU for the registration of the names of "hellim" or "halloumi", Cirali said that their request, as "Chamber of industry" is the inspection of halloumi in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus to be given to them. He added: "Because if the authority is only granted to the south Cyprus government (translator's note: as he refers to the Cyprus Government) the producers in the North will not be inspected and therefore our producers will be dispossessed of using these names". He also said that their request of giving the right of inspection to the "KTSO" was viewed positively by the so-called minister of agriculture Onder Sennaroglu.

Cirali claimed that the "South Cyprus authorities" (translator's note: as he refers to the Cyprus Government) want to use this as a political trump card, adding that this could damage the "TRNC" economy.

[05] A cooperation protocol on the environment between Turkey and the "TRNC"

[06] Sertoglu: We want our rights from CFA

[07] Economical dimensions to the transfer of "deputies" in Turkish Cypriot political parties

The paper writes that the breakaway regime gives to the Turkish Cypriot political parties 8.475 Turkish Lira every month for every "deputy" of the party in the "assembly" adding that for the 50 "deputies" the "state" spends 423.750 Turkish Lira every month.

According to Yeni Duzen, if the four "deputies" who resigned from the Democratic Party (DP) a few days ago decide to join the National Unity Party (UBP) as it is rumored, then the party's income will increase up to 406.800 Turkish Lira per year. This is why, the paper writes, efforts are made so that the resigned "deputies", Ahmet Kasif, Zorlu Tore, Ergun Serdaroglu and Hamit Bakirci to become members of UBP before the 2015 "budget" passes by the "assembly".

[08] Feasibility works on a trolley project in occupied Famagusta

The experts team from Istanbul's municipality will prepare a report with the results of the examination of the town and how they can include the "trolley project" within the "transportation master plan of the town".

The self-styled mayor of occupied Famagusta Ismail Arter said that they carry out works on alternative routes to resolve the traffic density on Salamis road and technical works on how the distribution will be after the trolley line will be built.

[09] "The Turks and the Russians: Business as usual"

"Russian President Vladimir Putin, accompanied by a large delegation including 10 ministers, visited Turkey on Dec. 1 to attend the fifth session of the High-Level Cooperation Council (HLCC), an inter-governmental mechanism designed to oversee the cooperation between the two countries and eliminating bureaucratic barriers to enhance it. The timing of the visit was crucial for Russia, as it came at a time when Putin has been isolated in the international arena. Not only that, he is not welcome in the West; he was openly snubbed by the leaders of the G-20 countries in their annual summit in Brisbane, Australia, on Nov. 15-16. Russia, too, faces sanctions from the EU and the U.S. due to its meddling in Ukraine. Thus, Putin's visit to Turkey was important to demonstrate to the world that he is still welcome in parts of the globe.

During the meetings, Turkish and Russian officials discussed various issues mainly related to bilateral trade and economic cooperation. Although the two countries signed 11 agreements to bolster economic cooperation Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Putin reiterated their ultimate goal of increasing the bilateral trade volume to $100 billion, the deadline for reaching it was extended to 2023, a very distant target.

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While nobody is sure how long Russia could tolerate the pressure, Turkey's preference to continue with deepening economic relations with Russia will in time attract attention in the West. Indeed, the new NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has stated his expectations from Turkey to join the sanctions against Russia on the same day of Putin's visit.

Adding this to the disagreements over several regional issues, such as the civil war in Syria, the Russian annexation of Crimea, Nagorno-Karabakh and Cyprus, it is not certain how long Turkey could continue to ignore the Western pressure and prioritize bilateral economic relations above all. Realpolitik will catch on eventually." TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION

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