US begins its efforts for restart Cyprus negotiations
The New Anatolian / Ankara
The New Anatolian, Turkey
May 5 2005
High-ranking US official Laura Kennedy meets with Turkish officials
in Ankara, on the first leg of her tour of all the interested parties
in the Cyprus problem.
Besides the Cyprus issue, Kennedy also has contacts on Turkish-Armenian
relations and possible cooperation between Turkey and the US in
Kyrgyzstan and the agreement on the use of Incirlik Airbase by
American forces.
Just a week after the election of Mehmet Ali Talat as the new
president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), the U.S.
government has begun its efforts to jump-start Cyprus negotiations
to resolve the island’s problems.
U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for European andEurasian Affairs
Laura Kennedy, on the first leg of her tour of all the interested
countries in the Cyprus problem, met with Turkish officials Tuesday
in Ankara. As well as having some contacts with Turkish and Greek
Cypriot officials on the island, Kennedy is also to travel to the
capital of the other guarantor countries of Greek Cyprus, Britain
and Greece. On the final leg of this tour, she will have contacts in
Brussels with European Union officials dealing with Cyprus.
After meeting with Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ambassador
Ali Tuygan, National Security Council (MGK) Secretary General Yigit
Alpogan and a group of Turkish parliamentarians, Kennedy said that now
“is a very appropriate time to exchange views with the parties after
the election of Talat.”
Kennedy underlined that the US would continue its efforts to help
the efforts of the UN secretary- general to solve the problem. “We
encourage (Greek Cypriot leader) Papadopoulos to communicate with the
UN secretary-general,” she said Tuesday during a press conference in
Ankara. “The secretary-general asked the Greek Cypriots to articulate
their concerns about the plan. The UN should remain responsible for
the talks. The EU has an important role to play, but again it is up
to the UN to conduct the talks.”
Citing the efforts of U.S. government to ease the international
embargo against the Turkish Cypriots, Kennedy said that these efforts
would continue. But she declined to give any signal for beginning of
direct flights between U.S. and TRNC airports. “We made an informal
survey of the airport of the north,” she said “but no decision has
been taken yet for direct flights.”
On Turkey’s efforts to find a solution to the problem, Kennedy said
that Ankara has a “good record” on this issue. “We, in the US, are
very aware that what Turkey has done,” she said.
No date for Erdogan visit
Asked about a possible meeting between Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President George W. Bush in Washington in
the coming months, Kennedy said that “no date has been set yet” for
such a meeting. But she added that both Turkish and US officials are
working on the issue.
On relations between the two countries, Kennedy said that Washington
welcomed the declaration of Turkish officials about the importance
that they attach to relations with the U.S.
Cooperation in Central Asia and the Caucasus
Kennedy also said that Turkey and the U.S. would deepen their
cooperation in Central Asia and the Caucasus. Saying that she had some
contacts with Turkish officials on recent developments in Kyrgyzstan,
Kennedy said that the U.S. would work with Turkey to provide assistance
and support to the interim government of that country.
She also said that she had talked about developments in Georgia,
especially in Abkhazia, with Turkish officials. “Both Turkey and the
U.S. have an interest in seeing progress on this problem,” she said.
“More Abkhazs are living in Turkey than Abkhazia. So, Turkey as a
neighboring country, could play a particular role in this issue.”
‘Why not reconcile the proposals of Erdogan and Kocharian?’
Kennedy responded to questions about the recent exchange of letters
between Erdogan and Armenian President Robert Kocharian with another
question. Referring to Erdogan’s proposal of establishing a committee
between the historians of the two countries and Kocharian’s proposal
to establish an intergovernmental committee, she asked, “Why do not
reconcile the two proposals?”
“We encourage the rapprochement and reconciliation between Turkey and
Armenia,” she said. She also expressed the possibility of a meeting
between Erdogan and Kocharian at the Council of Europe summit meeting
set for Warsaw in the coming days.
On the Turkish concerns about Armenian territorial aspirations from
Turkey, Kennedy said that she had “never heard anything from Armenians”
about not recognizing the Turkish borders. “I have no reason to believe
that the Armenians don’t recognize the existing borders,” she said.
‘We appreciate the Incirlik understanding’
On the recent agreement between Turkey and the U.S. on the use
of Incirlik Airbase by American military forces, Kennedy said,
“We appreciate the understanding.” She also reiterated Washington’s
appreciation of Turkish support for the fight against international
terrorism.
Citing how Washington put the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party
(PKK) on its official terrorist organizations list and encouraged its
European allies to do the same, Kennedy made a reference to the words
of President Bush saying that “Iraq would not be a haven for the PKK.”
Referring also to the trilateral meeting in Ankara between the U.S.,
Iraq and Turkey earlier this year, she said, “We appreciate the words
of the Iraqi government that they do not tolerate any hostile movements
against any neighbors.”