Bagis slams EP report calling on turkey to withdraw troops from Cyprus

The European Parliament yesterday called on Turkey to hand over a Turkish Cypriot town to Greek Cypriots and immediately begin the withdrawal of Turkish troops from Northern Cyprus, in a move seen by Ankara as placing the entire responsibility for the island's decades-long division on its shoulders. The statements came in an annual report passed on European Union candidate Turkey 's progress in 2009, written by Dutch Christian Democrat Ria Oomen-Ruijten. But State Minister and Chief EU Talks Negotiator Bagis blasted those sections of the report. " Turkey has no plans to withdraw troops from the island," Bagis said just before meeting with Atlantic Council President Frederick Kepme in Ankara . Bagis said this was not the first biased EP report on Turkey , adding, "After my talks in Brussels last week, I got the impression that this report shouldn't be taken so seriously, as it reflects an effort for compromise among the EP's various political groups rather than the facts about Turkey ." Stressing that Turkish troops have the very important task of preserving and maintaining peace and stability on the divided island, Bagis also reiterated that Turkey wouldn't sacrifice Turkish Cypriots to gain EU membership. " Cyprus is a national cause for all of us," he said. "With this viewpoint, the report can't help the ongoing peace talks on the island reach a positive outcome." In related news, European Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy Commissioner Stefan Fuele of the Czech Republic yesterday praised Turkey 's democratization efforts in an address to the EP during debate on the progress report.