By Jean Christou
TURKISH Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash has sent a letter to Secretary-General Kofi Annan apparently signalling his willingness to enter talks on Annan's plan to reunite Cyprus, the United Nations said last night.
"The letter was just received and it is being studied in depth, but it does appear from the letter that Mr Denktash is prepared to negotiate on the basis of the proposal," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York.
"The clock is obviously ticking. We'd like to move ahead," Dujarric said.
"I hope that both sides realise, and I think both sides do realise, that this is a historic opportunity to solve a long-standing problem," US Secretary of State Colin Powell told reporters after talks at the State Department with Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou.
The announcement came after Annan earlier sent letters to the sides demanding their observations on the plan by Saturday and just hours after Denktash told a Turkish television channel that there were elements in the plan - especially its territorial provisions - that would have to be changed before the proposal could be negotiated.
Annan had originally given the two sides until November 18 to decide if the 140-page plan was acceptable as a basis for negotiation. The Greek Cypriot side said on November 18 that it was.
It was not until yesterday - 10 days after the deadline - that Denktash submitted his response.
The international community wants both sides to have signed a preliminary agreement in time for the EU summit in Copenhagen on December 12, at which Cyprus is expected to be invited to join.
President Glafcos Clerides confirmed yesterday that Annan had sent him a letter asking what changes the Greek Cypriot side wished to see in the plan.
"The Secretary-general has sent me a letter and tomorrow (Thursday) I will put it before the National Council," Clerides said.
However Denktash, who is still in hospital in New York recovering from heart surgery in early October and is not expected to be discharged before Christmas, said earlier yesterday he wanted changes made before he would agree to accept the plan as a basis for negotiation.
Annan's plan, submitted to the sides on November 11, proposes territorial handovers by the Turkish Cypriots to reduce their share of territory to 28.5 per cent from the 37 per cent occupied by Turkish troops since 1974. This would allow 85,000 of the 162,000 Greek Cypriot refugees to return to their homes, but displace some 42,000 Turkish Cypriots.
Denktash yesterday told Turkish channel NTV by telephone that plans for Turkish Cypriots to hand over territory to Greek Cypriots were unjust.
He said a UN request for detailed comments on the plan by November 30 was positive, and the responses by both sides would determine whether the plan was acceptable or not.
"For this to be a foundation for negotiations, the elements we don't want must be negotiated," Denktash said. "But inside the plan, beginning with territory... I think there are many elements that must be changed, but we will negotiate these."
Reports from New York said Denktash had prepared a document containing amendments, which had been conveyed to Ankara for comment and would be handed to the UN. Sources told the Cyprus News Agency that in the "alternative plan", as Denktash reportedly called his document, the Turkish Cypriot leader was asking for amendments to issues concerning maps and the timeframes on the various stages which lead to the completion of the agreement. It was not clear last night if this document was the reply sent to Annan.
"When both sides put everything they disagree with in the middle it will become self-evident whether this document can be negotiated or not," Denktash told NTV.
Denktash's advisor, Ergun Olgun, said yesterday: "the only thing that I can say is that Mr. Denktash will continue negotiations. He has talked with many people and soon he will present his ideas".
Earlier, Government Spokesman Michalis Papapetrou said the Greek Cypriot side's reply to the request for observations would be conveyed to Annan through his Special Adviser on Cyprus Alvaro de Soto.
"Many ministers have submitted to the President their observations on certain points of the plan, which are not necessarily negative," he added.
In London, Foreign Minister Yiannakis Cassoulides said that no political settlement in Cyprus could work unless there was political will from the two sides.
Addressing a gathering of some 70 British MPs, he also said that Turkey's desire to join the European Union and Cyprus' desire to reunite the country would definitely converge at some stage, sooner or later.
"We have been saying all along that our policy has always been that we will be trying to solve the Cyprus problem even up to the last day before the EU summit in Copenhagen and most certainly after the summit decision," Cassoulides said.
He said that the solution must be based on solid foundations and outlined three things that were essential to achieve this goal.
"A solution must be functional and take into account the sensitivities of public opinion, which must be addressed. If there is no political will from both sides, even the best plan in the world cannot work," he said.
CYPRUS MAIL 28/11/2002