Selection: Michalis Katsigeras

TURKEY AND THE ARABS: United Nations, 25 – The group of 28 Afro-Asian member states of the United Nations met this afternoon in a closed-door session, chaired by the vice president of Afghanistan, in order to hear the views of the Turkish permanent representative regarding the Cyprus issue. The Turkish representative had convened the meeting of the group, to which Turkey belongs because of its geographical position. It is generally believed that he is to present the Ankara government’s views on the general situation in Cyprus, the reason for Turkey’s interest and the stance it will take regarding the new plan that has been proposed by the British. Meanwhile, reliable observers at the UN point out that Turkey had recently made efforts to approach the Arab world in an attempt to block Greek policy and disrupt the friendly relations between Greece and the African and Asian nations. Therefore, by convening the group, the Turks want to show they attribute great importance to the stance that the nations represented in the group will take regarding how to deal with the next developments in the Cyprus issue.