Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot and Turkish Media Review, 16-02-02

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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] Colak meets with the Qatari Minister of Economy and Trade

[02] Ozgur: The influence of Cyprus-Greece-Israel summit on the Cyprus problem is "important and serious"; Bringing electricity from Turkey should be discussed

[03] Candan continues the evaluation of their contacts in Brussels

[04] Kanatli accused Turkey of following a double standards policy on the Cyprus problem

[05] The bloody corpse of a dog is left outside Afrika newspaper's offices

[06] Plumer Kucuk: "The remains of 1061 missing persons have been exhumed so far"

[07] Sucoglu: "Corendon Airlines plans to bring 30,000 tourists per year"

[08] Cavusoglu: "Russia will 'face consequences' if airspace violations continue"

[09] Erdogan accused Russia and Western countries of "double standard" policies

[10] Erdogan tours Latin America; "Turkey's trade volume with Chile to increase"

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS

[01] Colak meets with the Qatari Minister of Economy and Trade

Colak briefed Al Thani on the ongoing negotiations in Cyprus and noted that with the solution of the Cyprus problem the positive climate in the Eastern Mediterranean will create an appropriate environment for foreign investors. Therefore, she claimed, it would be useful for the Qatari investors on the spot to examine the possibilities for investments.

Colak said that in case a solution is reached, the Turkish Cypriot community will be the first Muslim member of the European Union under the Federal Cyprus roof and described this development as an "important factor" for the Muslim world.

Moreover, the chairman of the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce, Fikri Toros, who is participating in Colak's delegation, explained in detail the fields and the sectors in the occupied area of Cyprus which could interest foreign investors. He said that investments by Qatar, which he described as a "brother Muslim country", are very valuable for the Turkish Cypriots.

The delegation visited also Qatar's Chamber of Commerce and Industry and met with its vice president, Mohammed bin Ahmed Twar Al Kovari. Toros and the member of the administrative council of the Turkish Cypriot "chamber of industry", Cavlan Paralik, who also participates in Colak's delegation, invited the Qatari chamber's administrative council to the occupied area of Cyprus, noting that they want the development of the relations between their chambers.

(I/Ts.)

[02] Ozgur: The influence of Cyprus-Greece-Israel summit on the Cyprus problem is "important and serious"; Bringing electricity from Turkey should be discussed

Ozgur noted that the regime should determine a concrete and common policy with Turkey on this issue and the project of bringing electricity from Turkey with cables should be discussed. Ozgur described as "a precondition" the discussion of an interconnected system and cooperation between [the occupied area of] Cyprus and Turkey in this field.

Referring to the issue of the water which has been transferred from Turkey to the occupied area of the island through undersea pipelines, Ozgur said that investments are needed in order for the water to be used effectively and added that according to the "constitution" of the regime, the administration of the water belongs to the "municipalities". He noted that they have explained this to Turkey and a model in which the "municipalities" will not be at loss came up.

(I/Ts.)

[03] Candan continues the evaluation of their contacts in Brussels

Candan said that during their contacts with several EU officials, they told them that Cyprus is the only place in the world from which the EU receives good and positive news.

Supporting that Brussels is monitoring very closely the developments on the island and the Cyprus negotiation process, Candan said that Brussels also provides an important contribution and support. "Together with this contribution and support to the solution process, the EU Commission sent experts to the country every week. These experts exert efforts and work with both Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot officials on the issue of how the unification of Cyprus will be achieved into the EU", Candan said.

Candan added further that during their meeting with officials of the Commission, they discussed the issue of the Turkish language to become an EU language and they were informed about the technical work which needed to be done towards this matter, in order to become realized.

Stating that they held also a meeting with the European Parliament's rapporteur on Turkey, Kati Piri, Candan said that they had the opportunity to discuss with her Turkey's EU bid and the paragraph on Cyprus to be included in the next EP's report on Turkey. He added that they stressed the need for the EU to support and put pressure to the Greek Cypriot side towards the opening of new crossing points in the island and the implementation without any other delay of the connection of electricity and GSM networks.

Candan stated also that during their meetings in Brussels, they discussed with the EU officials the issue of their representation in the European Parliament after the solution and the preparations that needed to be done toward this issue.

Reminding of the decision of the Council of the EU dated on June 2014, envisaging that four months after the solution to be, there will be elections for the European Parliament in the island for the election of 4 Greek Cypriots and 2 Turkish Cypriots MPs, Candan said that they demanded for this decision to be implemented soon after the solution.

Referring to the meetings which took place in Davos, Candan described them as very important for the Cyprus negotiation process and said that Davos' results had a positive reflection in Brussels.

(AK)

[04] Kanatli accused Turkey of following a double standards policy on the Cyprus problem

Issuing a written statement, Kanatli evaluated their recent contacts in Ankara as well as Turkey's policies on the Cyprus problem.

Kanatli argued that even though Turkey exerts efforts and tries to present itself to the EU as the side which supports the solution of the Cyprus problem, the policies it follows show exactly the opposite.

Recalling the recent statements made by the so-called Turkish ambassador in the occupied area of Cyprus Derya Kanbay on the Cyprus problem, Kanatli said that these statements prove that Turkey follows a separatist and divisional policy.

Kanatli went on and called Turkey to withdraw its troops from the island in order as he said to prove that it honesty desires peace and the solution of the Cyprus problem.

(?)

(AK)

[05] The bloody corpse of a dog is left outside Afrika newspaper's offices

The newspaper's security camera recorded this person, the face of whom is not evident. The "police" launched interrogations in Afrika's offices and confiscated the camera's records.

Asked last night by the paper's reporters regarding the result of their investigation, the "police" said that they had not found the perpetrator yet.

"It is estimated that some circles which are annoyed by the publications of our newspaper have used this method for threatening", writes Afrika.

Turkish Cypriot Havadis newspaper (02.02.16) covers the issue under the title "Disgusting attack against Afrika".

In statements to Turkish Cypriot Kibris newspaper (02.02.16), Afrika's publisher, Sener Levent said that this was a message to them that "we will kill you like dogs".

(I/Ts.)

[06] Plumer Kucuk: "The remains of 1061 missing persons have been exhumed so far"

Explaining that around 100-120 locations were excavated each year since 2006, Kucuk said that there were currently nine teams working on both sides in the island.

Kucuk also said that the remains of 116 missing persons have been located in 2015, the highest figure in the past four years.

Stating that they are expecting the same success this year, Kucuk added that the success rate of the excavations is around 20-25%.

(?)

[07] Sucoglu: "Corendon Airlines plans to bring 30,000 tourists per year"

In statements during an event organized there, Sucoglu recalled that Corendon Airlines will re-launch flights to the "TRNC" as of May 1, 2016 and said that Corendon's decision was a result of their fruitful efforts.

Stating that Corendon Airlines are planning to bring around 12 thousand tourists to the "TRNC" in 2016 and around 30 thousand in 2017, Sucoglu described the company as very important for the "country's tourism sector".

Referring to the occupation regime's participation in the EMITT fair and to the contacts they held there, Sucoglu said that during their four days stay, they held around 50 different meetings with officials and representatives of foreign countries, such as Azerbaijan, Sudan, Palestine, Iran, while, at the same time, they signed very important agreements.

Sucuoglu added further that Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and the Turkish Minister of Tourism Mahir Unal were among those who visited the occupation regime's stand in the fair and expressed their support.

(AK)

[08] Cavusoglu: "Russia will 'face consequences' if airspace violations continue"

"We summoned the [Russian] Ambassador [to Ankara, Andrei Karlov] to our Ministry and protested the act. We clearly told him, 'If there are similar violations again you will have to face the consequences,' because we previously communicated our rules of engagement to Russia," said Cavusoglu on January 31 in Riyadh, at a joint press conference with his Saudi counterpart Adel al-Jubeir, according to state-run Anadolu Agency.

(?)

NATO and the United States confirmed the latest violation, with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg immediately urging Russia not to escalate tension by continuing its airspace violations.

Russia has denied that it violated Turkey's airspace on January 29, just as it denied the violation on November 24, 2015, which led to Turkey's downing of the Russian jet and the death of two pilots. That incident sent relations between Ankara and Moscow on a downward spiral and led to Russia announcing a raft of economic sanctions against Turkey.

Cavusoglu said that this denial was a "typical attitude" of Russia lately and that all details of the breach had been shared with Russia.

"We do not only see Russia as a neighbor. We also see them as an important partner. We want to normalize our relations [with Russia] but one-sided steps are not enough for this to happen," said Cavusoglu.

[09] Erdogan accused Russia and Western countries of "double standard" policies

In statements after arriving in Santiago for the first leg of a Latin America tour that covers Chile, Peru and Ecuador, Erdogan presented a detailed account of Ankara's view on efforts by the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the status of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its military wing, the People's Defense Units (YPG), and the fate of ongoing operations against militants of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

"The EU hasn't acted sincerely so far. They are giving the floor to certain representatives of the PKK in order to make speeches at the European Council. Look, all of those weapons seized in the latest operations in the southeast are Russian-made. Previously, we told the West concerning DAESH and warned them 'not to give weapons to the PYD,'" Erdogan said, using an Arabic acronym for ISIL. "What did they tell us in response? 'PYD and the YPG are fighting against DAESH.' At the time, we told them that Russians are also fighting. Then will we call Russia 'good?' The Westerners are making serious mistakes about the PYD. They are saying, 'Good terrorist, bad terrorist,'" he said.

"Just as how the PKK is accepted as a terror organization in the European Union and in the U.S., the PYD and the YPG need to be declared as a terror organization, too, because these are also terror organizations like DAESH and al-Qaeda," Erdogan added.

Meanwhile, Erdogan also argued that the anti-ISIL coalition forces have not been displaying determination on the transfer of power from the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

[10] Erdogan tours Latin America; "Turkey's trade volume with Chile to increase"

Erdogan said that the two countries were growing rapidly and their profile in the international arena was rising. "These positive developments should be reflected in bilateral relations," Erdogan added.

Erdogan stressed also that Chile was an important partner for Turkey. "In that respect, we see this visit as a step at the right time. We can see that the people of two countries, who live far away from each other, meet along common cultural themes. In this respect, the acceptance of a Turkish [TV] series in Chile pleased us".

Most of the world's lithium, an important ingredient in rechargeable batteries used in electric cars, is produced in Chile. The country is also major copper producer.

Erdogan noted that the number of tourists per year from Chile to Turkey was about 17,000. "We will see some improvements in the near future on that by establishing a direct flight between Istanbul and Santiago with Turkish Airlines which holds the title of the airline flying to the most destinations," Erdogan said.

The trade volume between Turkey and Chile, the first nation in Latin America to sign a free-trade deal with Turkey in 2011, amounted to around $417 million last year, a decrease from $562 million in 2014.

Erdogan said that the trade volume could be increased to $1 billion in the short term. "All that matters is to believe and trust in each other," he said.

The two countries also signed a deal on more cooperation between their government aid agencies.

Erdogan will head to Peru on Tuesday -- becoming the first Turkish President to visit the country. He will travel to Ecuador on Wednesday. TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION

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(AK/ LF)

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