Turkish Foreign Ministry: Turkey would not wait another 50 years for the solution of the Cyprus problem
Ankara Anatolia news agency (27.11.12) reports that the Spokesperson for Turkish Foreign Ministry, Selcuk Unal, responding to questions on the Cyprus problem, stated that the coming year would be the 50th year of the problem in the island.
Unal replied on Tuesday for the first time on questions in English about several issues on Turkish Foreign Ministry twitter page.
Alleging that Turkey’s aim in Cyprus was a negotiated and mutually agreed political settlement, Unal said that Turkey would not wait for another 50 years.
“The Turkish side’s commitment to be ‘one step ahead’ did not change since the Annan Plan negotiations in 2004. We fully supported the efforts of the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. 2012 will be the 50th year of the Cyprus problem. We cannot tolerate another 50 years,” he alleged and claimed that reaching the settlement aim would not only be in the interest of the two sides on the island, but of all concerned parties.
Referring to other issues, Unal praised importance of EU’s enlargement policy and said that Turkey’s accession to the European Union would be beneficial for both sides.
Unal also said that Turkey’s membership to the union would also contribute to the regional and global peace and stability as well as the dissemination of universal values to a wider geography.
Touching on the escalating tension in Iraq, Unal mentioned that Turkey was attaching high importance to security and stability, of Iraq.
Noting that they were talking with all relevant parties to the disagreement end, “We are following the increasing tension between Irbil and Baghdad with concern. We wish both sides could act with tandem and display active coordination between themselves. We hope that all the issues between the sides would be solved with dialogue and on a legitimate basis,” he added.
