Eurasia Press & News
A former foreign minister of Greece on Wednesday urged Turkey to exert its influence over Turkish Cyprus to spur its leadership into a more yielding stance in peace talks to reunify the long-divided island.
Dora Bakoyannis, who served as Greek minister of foreign affairs from 2006-2009 and is now the leader of the newly founded Democratic Alliance Party, said she lends much support to eradicating problems between Turkey and Greece, reaffirming that the biggest dividing line between the two Aegean countries is the Cyprus problem. She said an ultimate and fair settlement of the dispute in which both sides will be satisfied will also provide ample opportunity to solve other problems.
Noting that she visited Greek Cyprus recently and observed a shared political will to find a settlement for the problem in Greek Cypriot leader Dimitris Christofias, the government and other political forces, Bakoyannis said election of Turkish Cypriot President Derviş Eroğlu this year with a tough conservative program makes things more difficult.
She said Greek Cypriots have established their political and economic independence vis-à-vis Greece and that they are even more prosperous than Greeks. The Turkish Cypriot community, however, she said, completely depends on Turkey both economically and politically, adding that Turkey has a strong military presence on the island. Claiming that, after all, Turkey could exert influence on Turkish Cyprus, the Greek politician said the EU candidate country could push Eroğlu to be more flexible.
Bakoyannis added that an agreement between Turkey and Greece to contain floods on the Meriç River, which runs through the northwestern province of Edirne and forms the natural border between Turkey and Greece, will be one of the most important steps between the two countries.
Praising Turkey’s rebound following the devastating 2001 crisis, made possible thanks to generous International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans, Bakoyannis said Greece has started to eye Turkey particularly at a time when Greece has also survived one of the worst financial meltdowns in its history.
Recognizing Turkey’s continuous modernization that has made it the 15th largest economy in the world with a growing middle class, Bakoyannis said Turkey has devoted itself to integrating with the West and has become a country with a strong industry, modern tourism sector and a well-developed infrastructure.
Also speaking about the disputes surrounding the Aegean continental shelf between the two neighbors, Bakoyannis said the Aegean should be a “sea of cooperation.” She also said Turkey should consider that one-third of Greek territory is composed of islands and “we cannot solve our problems by ignoring this fact.” Arguing that both sides are losing time, the Greek politician said both sides need to find a solution to this problem in a rapid and decisive way. Bakoyannis said five talks have been held since May this year to settle the issue, without any results and urged both countries, as civilized nations, to take the issue to an international court.
