Greece rejects Turkish plan
Greece has turned down Turkey’s latest proposal for reopening talks in Cyprus, Foreign Minister Petros Molyviatis told British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw during his visit to Athens yesterday. Straw arrived in Greece on a whistle-stop tour that had already included visits to Nicosia and Ankara, where he lauded Turkey for its effort to restart the negotiation process over the future of Cyprus. «I welcome the priority the Turkish government continues to give to finding a lasting, just and comprehensive agreement and your willingness to improve the overall atmosphere in the region,» Straw told Turkish businessmen. Once in Athens, however, Molyviatis made it clear to the British foreign secretary that Greece did not support the initiative, which Ankara submitted to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Tuesday. «This proposal does not differ from one made by Turkey last May, which did not lead to a solution,» Molyviatis said. Ankara proposed that restrictions on Turkish-occupied Cyprus be dropped in return for Turkish ports and airports being opened to Cypriot ships and airplanes. Turkey also suggested that high-level talks between Turkish and Greek Cypriots as well as Greece and Turkey be held by June. «This is not the proper framework in which to discuss the Cyprus issue, which is an international matter, not a bilateral one,» said Molyviatis after his meeting with Straw. Meanwhile, Cyprus lodged an official complaint with the European Commission after comments made in support of the Turkish proposals by Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn. «The Commission welcomes efforts to achieve progress in the current deadlock with regard to the Cyprus problem,» Rehn said on Tuesday. Nicosia said it was particularly upset that Rehn had made a statement immediately after the plan was unveiled by Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. It also questioned whether he was in a position to suggest the Commission had adopted the proposals before it had even had time to consider them.
