British daily Criticies EU's unfair treatment of trnc

The European Union will regret its humiliating and unfair stance against Turkey, columnist David Hannah of Britain's Daily Telegraph wrote yesterday, reflecting on Prime Minister David Cameron's visit to Turkey visit earlier this week. Criticizing the EU's Cyprus stance, he said, "Greek Cypriots were awarded for their refusal of a UN plan in 2004 to reunify the divided island but Turkish Cypriots, who approved the plan, were punished." In related news, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Dervis Eroglu met with Greek Cypriot administration leader Demetris Chiristofias over dinner at his official residence in Nicosia. The two leaders' wives and Special UN Envoy Alexander Downer were also in attendance. Eroglu told reporters that such meetings would help develop social relations between the two sides. Comprehensive negotiations between Turkish and Greek Cypriots towards a just and lasting solution to the Cyprus issue are continuing, with Turkey urging a positive outcome by year's-end. The Cyprus issue continues to remain a hurdle to progress in Turkey's accession talks with the EU because Turkey refuses to open its ports and airport to traffic from the Greek Cypriot administration, an EU member, before a solution to the Cyprus issue is reached under UN parameters. During a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Cameron said he shares Turkey's view that real progress should be made this year on the issue. "This is the year when we ought to be trying to get an agreement that can settle that issue in a way that is satisfactory," he said. "It remains a great unsolved problem of Europe, and we can't forever leave it to one side. Also, I want to help Turkey in terms of its membership of the EU and this is something that stands in the way of that membership, so the faster we can resolve this problem, the faster we can seek to resolve the issue of Turkey's membership of the EU."