Denktash keeps the UN waiting as Turkey moves towards acceptance

THE U.N. was last night still waiting for Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash to say whether he accepted Secretary-general Kofi Annan's peace plan for Cyprus, amid growing indications that Turkey was pushing for acceptance of the proposal as a basis for negotiations.

It is now two weeks since Annan submitted the plan, calling on both sides to adhere to a strict timetable ahead of the EU's December 12 Copenhagen summit, at which Cyprus is expected to be invited to join the Union and Turkey is hoping for a date to start accession talks. Denktash, who is still in New York recovering from heart surgery, has already overshot by a week the first deadline of last Monday for a reply to the proposal. The Greek Cypriot side has accepted the plan as a basis for negotiations.

Last night, Turkey's semi-official Anatolia news agency quoted diplomatic sources as saying Denktash was poised to give a positive reply in the next couple of days.

But UN assistant spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the UN was still waiting on Denktash.

"The next step for us is to hear from Mr Denktash," he said.

"I cannot go further than that. We are waiting for him to give us his preliminary reaction to the plan and then we will take it from there."

However, the leader of Turkey's new governing party said yesterday the plan did provide a basis for negotiations.

"We find (the plan) to be negotiable," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during a visit to Lisbon yesterday.

"Of course, it has positive and negative sides, but through negotiations and mutual sacrifice we're willing to resolve this issue," he said.

He predicted a deal could be reached by the middle of next year.

On Sunday, Turkey despatched its new foreign minister to New York to meet Denktash in hospital.

Yasar Yakis said after a one-hour meeting with the Turkish Cypriot leader that the path of negotiation was open.

"The Turkish government's assessment of the plan coincides with that of Mr Denktash and we believe that after working on it we will achieve something concrete and constructive," he said.

But Yakis remained evasive as to exactly how the Turkish side would answer.

"Accepting the plan as a basis for negotiations means one thing in the diplomatic and legal jargon, but we believe that the way for negotiation is open," he said. "At least we do not reject the negotiations.

"It is Denktash who will decide when he will respond to Kofi Annan. A few days delay will not cause a problem."

Last week, Denktash said he was not yet prepared to accept the plan as it stood, saying he needed to negotiate to see if it was negotiable.

He has cited his ill health in defence of the delays, saying he has not had the opportunity to consult with allies in Cyprus and Ankara.

The government yesterday suggested the Turkish side was playing for time. Leaving for meetings with British government officials in London, Foreign Minister Yiannakis Cassoulides said Turkey was in no hurry to reach a settlement before the Copenhagen Summit on December 12.

Cassoulides said it remained to be seen whether Turkey was genuinely willing to reach a settlement, or whether it was using the Cyprus problem in an effort to secure a date for accession negotiations with the European Union.

Also speaking yesterday, Attorney-general Alecos Markides said he did not believe Denktash would accept the Annan plan as a basis for negotiations.

Speaking at a news conference, Markides said Denktash was stalling and warned there was a chance he would hold back his answer until just a few days before Copenhagen, thereby further restricting the time left for negotiation.

"If he does give an answer in the last minute it would be a radical development and the National Council and President Clerides would take the necessary steps to deal with it," Markides said.

"However, it is not likely that Denktash would do such a thing."

Meanwhile, in a meeting with President Clerides yesterday the Pancyprian Refugee Union signalled its acceptance of the plan as a basis for talks.

The association's chairman, Christos Artemiou, said the plan had many flaws regarding the return of refugees to their homes, but the union was happy that negotiations would take place that would see the return of more refugees than the number initially indicated on the plan.

"We are hopeful that all refugees from Kyrenia will return to their homes within six to seven years," he said.

"Things will get better once we enter the EU."
CYPRUS-MAIL 26/11/2002