|
Turkey to open port, airport to Cyprus traffic: EU |
 |
 |
 |
|
Written by Reuters
|
|
Thursday, 07 December 2006 10:24 |
|
Turkey has offered to open a port and an airport to traffic from Cyprus in a last-minute bid to avert a partial suspension of its European Union membership talks, EU President Finland said on Thursday.
Presidency spokesman Mikko Norros said: "I can confirm they sent a message to the Foreign Ministry to say they are opening one port and one airport."
But neither Finland nor Turkey would say whether the apparent concession was conditional on the 25-nation EU opening direct trade with Turkish Cypriot northern Cyprus, which the Greek Cypriot government in Nicosia has so far blocked.
A Turkish Foreign Ministry source said Ankara would make the move if the isolation of northern Cyprus was eased.
A well-placed EU source said Turkey had offered to open one port provisionally for a year apparently without conditions but had linked opening an airport to Cypriot flights to the opening of a port and an airport in northern Cyprus.
Turkey's lira currency hit a seven-month high against the dollar on the news, which came as ambassadors of the bloc met in Brussels for a second day to discuss how to sanction Ankara for failing to meet a requirement to allow normal trade with Cyprus.
Diplomats quoted the Finnish ambassador as telling colleagues: "Turkey has informed the presidency that ... it will open one major sea port to Cypriot vessels for the transfer of Cypriot goods." The meeting then adjourned and will resume on Friday after ambassadors have consulted their governments.
"Turkey is wanting to communicate that it's important to avoid a bigger clash. To that end, it has approached with constructive ideas," Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja told
Turkey's chief EU negotiator, Economy Minister Ali Babacan, told reporters: "For the sake of negotiations, Turkey is not making any public statements about this at the moment."
The EU rejects any linkage between the ports issue, which is a treaty obligation under Turkey's EU customs union, and direct trade with the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state, which was a political commitment the bloc gave in 2004.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told a news conference Brussels was seeking clarification, but added: "If that move can be confirmed, I think it is certainly an important step ... and in that context I certainly welcome it."
Britain, Turkey's strongest backer in the EU, applauded Ankara's initiative as "really significant".
"We have been pressing the Turkish government to implement its obligations. A unilateral move would be courageous and positive. It is essential that the EU responds," a British official said.
Nicosia strongly objects on sovereignty grounds to opening Ercan airport in northern Cyprus, which would bring huge tourism benefits to the Turkish Cypriots.
The Nicosia government, which officially represents all of Cyprus in the EU, said it would never consent to opening the airport to flights other than to Turkey. "This can never happen," spokesman Christodoulos Pashiardis said.
The executive European Commission recommended last week suspending eight out of 35 policy areas or "chapters" in Turkey's EU accession negotiations and refusing to conclude talks in any sector until it complies on trade with Cyprus.
Cyprus and some other EU states want tougher action with a new deadline for a review of Turkey's compliance, but some members have called for less harsh measures.
Cyprus has been divided since Turkish troops invaded in 1974 in response to a coup by Greek Cypriot militants seeking union with Greece.
Turkey refuses to recognize the Greek Cypriot government in Nicosia. The EU admitted a divided Cyprus as a member in 2004, represented only by the Nicosia government, even though the Greek Cypriots voted against a U.N. peace plan for the island which Turkish Cypriots approved in a referendum. |