February 27, 2006 - 17:17 AMT
Cyprus Threatens to Veto Talks on Turkey Accession to EU
February 28 bilateral talks between Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan begin in Paris. The meeting aim is search for new approaches to the Cyprus problem, which is a major obstacle for Turkey's membership in the EU. In the opinion of Cyprus, Ankara does not make constructive proposals over settlement of the issue. In its turn Cyprus threatens to veto talks on Turkey's accession to the EU owing to Ankara refusal to recognize the Greek Cyprus. According to Cypriot Information Minister Yannakis Solomu, in spite «it is felt today that Turkey actually wants accession to the EU, the Turkish party wants to get everything, without ceding anything - either return of occupied territories, the refugee issue or that of Turkish settlers, or other sore issues.» Now, when Cyprus is already a full EU member, while Turkey only aspires to start talks on accession, Cyprus has a good instrument for putting pressure upon Ankara, reports NEWSru.com.