Quote:
Finnish foreign minister is to meet with Abdullah Gül in Tampere to discuss a revised proposal to overcome the deadlock on ports. Apakan heads to Finland to prepare groundwork for talks
BARÇIN YI?NANÇ
ISTANBUL - Turkish Daily News
Finland, the holder of the European Union's rotating presidency, is preparing for a final diplomatic push ahead of its Dec. 6 deadline to overcome a deadlock on the ports dispute with Turkey.
The Finnish government has proposed a bilateral meeting with Turkey next week in the Finnish city of Tampere, where it will host a meeting between EU and Mediterranean foreign ministers. EU president Finland is expected to table new proposals and exclude the issue of Varosha from the first version of proposals to convince both sides to cooperate, sources familiar with the talks told the Turkish Daily News.
Top Foreign Ministry diplomat Ertug<breve>rul Apakan headed to Finland yesterday to prepare the groundwork for talks between Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül and his Finnish counterpart, Erkki Tuomioja, sources also said.
Finland failed in its first initiative to secure a deal between the Turkish and Cypriot sides with a compromise solution based on four pillars. The Finns proposed opening the northern Turkish Cypriot port of Famagusta, known as Gazimagusa in Turkish, to international trade. The aim was to meet Turkey's concerns about the economic isolation of northern Cyprus and clear the way for Turkey to open its ports and airports to direct trade with Greek Cypriot vessels and planes. The plan also included terms for the entry into force of EU regulations on trade with Turkish Cyprus, previously blocked by the Greek Cypriots. Another pillar in the plan was the transfer of the abandoned district of Varosha, uninhabited since it was taken by Turkish troops in 1974, to U.N. administration. Finnish diplomats tried to hold a four-way meeting in Helsinki, together with Turkey and the two sides on the island before Nov. 8, the date the European Commission released its annual progress report on Turkey. Ankara refused to go to Helsinki on the grounds that Athens had not been invited. The European Commission said it would make recommendations before the EU summit on Dec. 14-15 if Turkey did not meet its obligations under an EU customs union to open Turkish ports to shipping from Greek Cyprus.
Finland is hosting a meeting on Nov. 27 of EU and Mediterranean foreign ministers in Tampere that will be attended by officials from Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration. Turkish Foreign Minister Gül will also be present. Finland intends to use this occasion for a new diplomatic effort; however, rather than another attempt to bring all the sides together, the Finnish foreign minister has instead proposed a bilateral meeting to his Turkish counterpart. Finland has also sent the message that Varosha will no longer be part of the deal.
Ankara has not refused to negotiate over the Finnish plan despite its reservations on Varosha, which is considered by the Turkish side to be part of a comprehensive solution. The Turkish side has also made clear that any deal to overcome the deadlock must include the opening of Ercan Airport in northern Cyprus to international traffic. Excluding the transfer of Varosha to the United Nations from the Finnish plan is likely to spark a reaction from the Greek Cypriot side, which also opposes the inclusion of Ercan in a compromise solution. The Greek Cypriots had earlier said they would not negotiate on any proposal that does not include the return of Varosha to its former Greek Cypriot residents.
http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=59829
