Turkish Cypriot leader approves coalition cabinet

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, January 14, 2004

Turkish Cypriot leader approves coalition cabinet

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Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash approved on Tuesday a new coalition government headed by Mehmet Ali Talat, leader of Republican Turkish Party (CTP), reports reaching Nicosia from northern Cyprus said.

"I have approved the cabinet list and have appointed Mehmet Ali Talat as prime minister," Denktash told reporters at his residence in the northern half of Nicosia.

Talat's Republican Turkish Party (CTP), which strongly supports the reunification with rival Greek Cypriots, formed the coalition with the Democrat Party (DP) of Serdar Denktash, son of the veteran Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, said the reports.

Serdar Denktash will be foreign minister and deputy prime minister in the new cabinet after the approval of the parliament.

The two parties in the coalition, the CTP and the DP, have agreed that their primary goal will be to work to find a solution to the decades-old division of Cyprus in time for the island's accession to the European Union (EU) in May, the reports said.

Speaking to the press, Talat said Annan's plan would constitute the basis for the peace talks between the island's two communities.

He pledged that his government would work in close cooperation with Turkey in the peace process.

"Turkey was waiting for the formation of the government ... We will now get in touch with Turkey to determine a common policy in the shortest possible time and will undertake initiatives to enable the UN secretary general to restart negotiations," Talat said.

Serdar Denktash, like his father, opposes the UN plan, but has recently softened his tone.

Although there were no official comments so far on the developments in the north, the Greek Cypriot-controlled southern government has called the coalition "a negative development".

"Talat fought the election on a platform demanding the replacement of Rauf Denktash and he has now allied himself with Denktash's son who is a staunch supporter of his father's line," government spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides said.

The formation of the new Turkish Cypriot government ended uncertainty about the island's future since parliamentary elections in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state last month resulted in splitting equally the seats in the 50-member parliament between parties supporting the UN plan and those opposed to it.

The latest development in northern Cyprus was expected to mark the start of renewed efforts to revive peace talks between Cyprus' Turkish and Greek communities to end the island's nearly 30-year division.

Talat was appointed to form the new government after the party received the most votes in the Dec. 14 elections.

Turkey is reportedly stepping up pressure for a solution to the Cyprus issue. EU officials have said that failure to find a solution would also make Turkey's EU bid more difficult.

"As long as this problem is dragging on, it is hurting both northern Cyprus and Turkey ... It is a must for us to reach a solution. And as far as I can see we are moving towards a solution," Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Denktash in a phone conversation, cited by local press.

Rauf Denktash has been widely blamed for the breakdown of UN-brokered talks last year because of his insistence on recognition for his breakaway state, which is only recognized by Turkey.

Cyprus, an eastern Mediterranean island, has been divided into the Greek Cypriot-controlled south and Turkish Cypriot-controlled north since the Turkish invasion in 1974 in the wake of a short-lived coup seeking union with Greece.

The United Nations had been trying to find a comprehensive settlement to the Cyprus issue, but its efforts failed early last year after Denktash refused to accept a peace plan put forward by Annan that proposed holding simultaneous referendums on both sides.

Source: Xinhua

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