Moody's upgrades Saudi Arabia's credit rating to Aa3 with stable outlook    Riyadh Metro to begin partial operations next Wednesday: Report    Al Okhdood halts Al Shabab's winning streak with a 1-1 draw in Saudi Pro League    Mahrez leads Al Ahli to victory over Al Fayha in Saudi Pro League    Al Qadsiah hands Al Nassr their first defeat in the Saudi Pro League    Saudi musical marvels takes center stage in Tokyo's iconic opera hall    Downing Street indicates Netanyahu faces arrest if he enters UK    London's Gatwick airport reopens terminal after bomb scare evacuation    Civil Defense warns of thunderstorms across Saudi Arabia until Tuesday    Saudi Arabia, Japan strengthen cultural collaboration with new MoU    Slovak president meets Saudi delegation to bolster trade and investment ties    Saudi defense minister meets with Swedish state secretary    Navigating healthcare's future: Solutions for a sustainable system    Al Khaleej qualifies for Asian Men's Club League Handball Championship final    Sixth foreign tourist dies of suspected methanol poisoning in Laos    Katy Perry v Katie Perry: Singer wins right to use name in Australia    Trump picks Pam Bondi as attorney general after Matt Gaetz withdraws    Al-Jasser: Saudi Arabia to expand rail network to over 8,000 km    Sitting too much linked to heart disease –– even if you work out    Denmark's Victoria Kjær Theilvig wins Miss Universe 2024    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



EU presidency plans high-level Cyprus talks-sources
Published in Saudi Press Agency on 30 - 10 - 2006


European Union president
Finland is trying to arrange discreet high-level talks next
Sunday to break a deadlock over Cyprus that threatens to derail
Turkey's EU membership negotiations, diplomats said on Monday, according to Reuters.
Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja aims to bring
together leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot
communities and the foreign ministers of Turkey and Greece in
Finland to discuss an initiative on opening trade and ports.
"It's the first time they have tried to bring the principals
together and it's not yet certain. They will go ahead only if
they see a prospect of progress," one EU diplomat said.
The aim was to create political momentum before the
executive European Commission publishes a progress report on
Turkey on Nov. 8, which will note that Ankara has not yet met a
treaty obligation to open its ports to shipping from Cyprus.
Cyprus, a divided island represented in the EU by the Greek
Cypriot government in Nicosia, has been obstructing Turkey's
accession negotiations to try to force Ankara to yield on the
ports issue and wider demands for recognition.
The Finnish Foreign Ministry and the countries involved
declined comment on the proposed talks. But Tuomioja told a news
conference in Helsinki: "We are still deeply engaged in trying
to find a solution to the Cyprus issue and all the parties we
have been in direct contact with have appreciated our efforts."
Asked by Reuters whether the presidency was preparing a
meeting of key players next weekend to discuss a way forward,
Cypriot Foreign Minister George Lillikas said: "We have been
asked not to speak about this so I cannot comment. I can say
that we are continuously in close contact with the Finns."
Details obtained by Reuters from sources on all sides
indicate Finland is proposing a trade-off under which Turkey
would open some ports to shipping from Cyprus.
In parallel, the Turkish Cypriots would be allowed to export
goods directly to the EU from the port of Famagusta under EU
supervision, and Greek Cypriots would be able to rebuild the
abandoned resort of Varosha under U.N. administration.
Both sides have demanded changes to the Finnish plan, which
has not yet been officially put on paper, but neither has
rejected it out of hand.
The Turkish Cypriots say it must include opening an airport
in northern Cyprus, which the Greek Cypriots categorically
reject. The Greek Cypriots want clearer guarantees that former
Greek Cypriot residents of Varosha will get their homes back,
the sources say.
European Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn, expected to
attend next weekend's talks if they take place, has urged Turkey
and the Turkish Cypriots to accept the Finnish initiative as the
best way to avoid a potential "train crash" in Turkey's EU bid.
In a move to improve the prospects of the Finnish plan, the
Commission last week released a first sum of 39 million euros in
aid to northern Cypriots under a development plan agreed in 2004
when the Turkish Cypriots voted for a U.N. peace plan rejected
in a referendum by the Greek Cypriots.
Diplomats said the director-general of the Finnish Foreign
Ministry for European affairs, Kare Halonen, was handling
detailed talks on the Cyprus initiative. He was in Ankara on
Monday and was due in Nicosia on Tuesday, they said.
The diplomats said the Finnish initiative was still a long
shot but neither side wanted to be blamed for rejecting it. If a
deal did emerge, it would be on the eve of a EU summit in
mid-December which will review what to do about Turkey's
accession talks.


Clic here to read the story from its source.