Turkey offers to open seaport and airport to Cyprus
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey has offered to open a sea port and an airport to EU member and longtime foe Cyprus — but only in return for trade concessions given to the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state, a senior Turkish official said yesterday.The Turkish official, who was speaking on condition of anonymity because the EU had not yet responded to Turkey’s offer, would not say whether the openings to Cyprus would initially be “unconditional but temporary” as earlier reported.
But he suggested that Turkey did expect something in return at an upcoming summit of EU heads of state.
“Turkey expects EU leaders at the summit to show courage to reach a comprehensive, lasting solution on the basis of the United Nations plan,” he said.
The Turkish offer appeared as thought it could be dead upon birth, however, with Cyprus Foreign Minister George Lilikas rejecting the proposal as “a mockery” of the European Union.
The EU said later that the offer was “not yet” sufficient to end the stalemate.
The Mediterranean island of Cyprus, forcefully divided after a 1974 Turkish invasion, has eluded a peaceful solution despite the efforts of a generation of United Nations mediators, and now looms as a dealbreaker in Turkey’s troubled bid to become the first predominantly Muslim country to join the European Union.
With the latest round of dealmaking, Ankara hoped to stave off a threatened suspension of its EU talks and to receive concrete promises that the international embargo against Turkish Cypriots would be lifted.
“Turkey expects to hear from the EU Commission whether its offer has created a mutual understanding,” the Turkish official said.
Turkey’s offer was not written but was relayed verbally Wednesday to Finland, the country holding the rotating EU presidency, NTV said.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry has refused comment, saying negotiations were still under way.
“This is a goodwill gesture aimed at strengthening Turkey’s hand and the hand of those EU members who are against a partial suspension of talks,” Cengiz Aktar, a columnist and an EU analyst, told NTV.
Turkey had signed a customs pact agreeing to open its ports and airports to the 10 countries that joined the EU in 2004, including Cyprus, which has been divided since Turkey invaded in 1974 following a failed coup staged by supporters of union with Greece.
The European Commission has ordered Turkey to extend the customs agreement to Cyprus or face a partial suspension of entry talks.
The Turkish government has argued, however, that extending the customs agreement would not imply recognition of Cyprus.
But Deniz Baykal, leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party, strongly criticised the Turkish offer, calling it “a very serious step toward recognising southern Cyprus as a legal state.”
“Either you open one port or open all of them; there is no difference between them,” Baykal said.
“The prime minister and foreign minister have brought Turkey to the point of taking a historically wrong step.”
Cyprus joined the EU in 2004 after UN efforts spearheaded by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to reunite the island failed. Turkish Cypriots voted in favour of the UN reunification plan shortly before Cyprus joined, while Greek Cypriots rejected it.
The division left Turkish Cypriots in the north in the lurch, represented in the EU by a Greek Cypriot government they didn’t elect and unable to trade with the outside world except through Turkey.
Turkey has said that since Cyprus’ accession, Greeks Cypriots have been rewarded for their intransigence, while Turkey and Turkish Cypriots have been called on to make extremely unpopular concessions.
Cyprus is a favourite national cause for Turkey, which views itself as the sole defender of the rights of Turkish Cypriots. Turkey stations some 40,000 troops in northern Cyprus and props up the breakaway state there.
Turkish leaders insist they will not sacrifice Turkish Cypriots for the sake of Turkey’s EU bid.
