Davutoglu asked for the acceleration of the Cyprus negotiation talks; He proposed an international conference on Cyprus on the model of Burgenstock
Turkish daily Today’s Zaman (08.03.12) reported that Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said that the political deadlock over Cyprus undermines the stability of the eastern Mediterranean and urged for an immediate solution that is acceptable to all parties involved in the issue.
Heading to Nakhchivan after wrapping up talks in the Netherlands on Wednesday, Davutoglu said the current dispute over the island’s status poses many threats to regional stability, touching upon problems that arose after “Greek Cyprus'” unilateral oil and natural gas drilling efforts in the eastern Mediterranean began.
(?) “All concerned parties acknowledge the issues involved in the Cyprus problem, given that those [areas] have been under discussion for over three decades. To come to a solution by July 1 would not be that difficult,” Davutoglu noted, emphasizing the need to accelerate negotiation talks.
Davutoglu indicated that Turkey wants to hold an international conference aimed at resolving the issue, modelled on the Burgenstock conference which was organized as a negotiating platform for the Cyprus issue in 2004. “This [the conference] option is strongly desired by Turkey, while Greek Cyprus is shunning the idea,” Davutoglu said.
(?) Davutoglu also called on EU countries to put pressure on the Greek Cypriots, by stipulating that their taking over the EU presidency should be accompanied by an urgent solution to the issue. “EU countries should not accept Greek Cyprus taking over the EU presidency if the issue is not solved by July 1,” the Foreign Minister said.