Atalay warns Greek Cypriots

Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay said yesterday that the trilateral meeting to be held by Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders and chaired by the UN secretary-general in New York over the weekend would become a turning point in Cyprus talks. Stating that even if the process fails, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) will "move on" with its increasingly stronger economy, Atalay said that in case the issue remained unsolved until the Greek Cypriot administration takes over EU term presidency as from July 1, problems would become graver. Reiterating the importance of this weekend's trilateral meeting, Atalay said, "The leaders have been holding contacts intensively. I guess this is the most important project which has been conducted by the UN secretary-general worldwide until now. Therefore he considers this issue as a ‘last chance'." Stating that Greek Cypriots do not seem to be very enthusiastic for a solution, Atalay said that the Greek Cypriot administration better pulls itself together, because water and energy to be provided by Turkey are required to ensure a comfortably livable life on the island. Atalay also stressed that Turkey would like to see the negotiations held under the umbrella of UN, adding, "Unless a just solution is found and Turkish Cypriots' rights are sufficiently protected, the process will go on like this."