Greek Cypriot leader claims Turkish ports to open soon; Ankara surprised
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Haziran 01, 2006 13:08
Cypriot Greek leader Tasos Papadopoulos has caused surprise in Ankara with his statement on Greek television this week that the AKP administration was in fact preparing to open Turkish ports to the Greek Cypriots, and that a bill making this possible was headed towards the Turkish Parliament.
Speaking on Greek RIK TV, Papadopoulos said that the Turkish Parliament was preparing to take the final steps necessary to open up their ports, and that this would occur before their summer break. Said Papadopoulos: "There is a Turkish-EU Partnership Council meeting in Luxembourg on June 12-13. And then the Turkish Parliament goes on break from June 2 until October. The Turkish government will bring this bill through parliament in order to escape pressure from the EU."
These statements, though denied in Ankara, were front page news yesterday in the Greek Cypriot media.
These statements, though denied in Ankara, were front page news yesterday in the Greek Cypriot media.