Gul wants Cyprus solution by June 2012

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkish President Abdullah Gül said he warned the UK that if a comprehensive solution is not found on the divided Mediterranean island of Cyprus by June 2012, Greek Cyprus will never bother again for a solution and the two-state structure on the island will continue.

Greek Cyprus is preparing to take over the EU's rotating presidency in July 2012.

Speaking to reporters when returning from an official visit to the UK, Gül said one of the topics he focused on during his three-day visit was the Cyprus issue and its settlement.

“One of the issues I dwelled on most [during my visit to UK] was the Cyprus issue. I spoke a lot about this issue because Great Britain is one of the guarantor powers of Cypriot sovereignty. I explained this issue to [British Foreign Secretary David] Miliband. I also talked about the issue of the Cyprus [EU] presidency term. … I said that if the UK sincerely wants to take a step regarding the Cyprus issue, it is just the time to do this. You will be able to take action until June 2012. If you will convince Greek Cyprus and say ‘enough,' it is just the time to do this. If you fail to take action now and if Greek Cyprus assumes the [rotating] EU presidency, why would it bother to seek settlement,” Gül said.

He also said that after that time, Turkey “will not take on any responsibility and the UK will have to recognize Turkish Cyprus as Turkey does,” Today’s Zaman reported.

Last month, Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders, accompanied by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, held talks in New York in an attempt to negotiate an agreement to reunify their divided island. Following the talks, Ban said that he expects a deal in January to reunify Cyprus after “positive, productive and vigorous” talks with the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders.