Thursday, December 30, 2004

Government dismisses Turkish moves on Cyprus talks

"Government dismisses Turkish moves on Cyprus talks
By Jean Christou

THE government said yesterday it was working on the creation of the conditions that would see the resumption of Cyprus talks as soon as possible and dismissed reports from the Turkish side that Ankara had already drawn up a plan for how it wished the talks to proceed.

In statements to reporters after yesterday�s Cabinet meeting, spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides said the government was aware of what had been published in the Turkish press regarding the resumption of talks but that it was not clear what precisely Ankara meant.

According to reports in the Turkish press, Ankara would not tolerate �the Greek Cypriot side�s efforts to put pressure on the UN through the EU�, negotiations would resume next May and no Turkish troops would be withdrawn before a solution. Neither would there be any concessions on political equality between the two sides, they said."

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