"Forced to go it alone? Talat’s message to Germany
By Simon Bahceli
IF THE Greek Cypriot side refuses to compromise on finding a solution to the Cyprus problem, the north will be forced to forge its own links with others nations. That, according to political sources in the north, was the message Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat carried to Berlin for a meeting with German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier yesterday.
Talat’s invitation to the German capital is the latest in a series of visits with prominent foreign leaders likely to cause consternation among Greek Cypriot politicians who would prefer to see him shunned.
Yesterday’s meeting between Talat and Steinmeier will perhaps constitute the first time Germany has caused offence to the Cypriot government. Britain and the US have both reaped the wrath of Greek Cypriot ire by holding direct meetings with Talat. The current US Secretary of State Condaleeza Rice and her predecessor Colin Powell both met with Talat, as did former British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw when he was on the island in January – an act that caused President Papadopoulos to cancel his own meetings with Straw.
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