TURKISH
CYPRIOT AND TURKISH MEDIA REVIEW
C
O N T E N T S
No.
119/16
28.06.2016
1.
Akinci evaluated normalization of bilateral relations of Turkey with Israel and
Russia
2.
Kurtulmus said that Turkey will continue to offer aid to the breakaway regime
solution or not solution
3.
Turkey and Israel signed deal to normalize ties
4.
Turkey and Russia take step to mend ties; a phone conversation between Erdogan
and Putin on June 29
5.
Cavusoglu accepted Russia's invitation to attend BESC meeting in
Sochi
6.
Columnists comment on Turkey-Israel rapprochement
7.
Milliyet argues that Turkey will become an energy
bridge
8.
Chapter 33 of Turkey's EU accession process to be opened on
Thursday
9.
Distribution of the water from Turkey started in the occupied area of
Cyprus
10.
Economic aid from Turkey to the breakaway regime for 2016 will be 927 million
Turkish Lira
11.
Cittaslow assembly will be held in the occupied area of Cyprus in
2019
1.
Akinci evaluated normalization of bilateral relations of Turkey with Israel
and Russia
Illegal
Bayrak television (28.06.16) broadcast that Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa
Akinci commenting on the normalization of bilateral relations of Turkey with
Israel and Russia, stated that this development is very important both for
Cyprus and our region.
Akinci,
who issued a written statement said that in case a solution is reached in
Cyprus, transporting the region’s natural gas via Turkey was the most feasible
project.
Evaluating
the agreement reached between Turkey and Israel as well as the rapprochement
with Russia, Akinci said that the normalization of relations with both countries
was a welcoming development, not only in terms of bi-lateral relations but also
for the region which was struggling with greater problems.
“More
importantly the normalization of Turkish-Israeli relations brings with it new
opportunities for cooperation regarding the natural gas in the Eastern
Mediterranean which I attach great importance to” said
Akıncı.
“As
the president, who conducts the negotiations on behalf of the Turkish Cypriots,
my priority is to achieve a federal settlement in which the two peoples on the
island can live in equality, freedom and security. I would like to underline
that we must always keep in close perspective the benefits and contributions
such a solution will bring for regional stability”, he
said.
2.
Kurtulmus said that Turkey will continue to offer aid to the breakaway regime
solution or not solution
Turkish
Cypriot daily Havadis newspaper (28.06.16) reports that Numan Kurtulmus, Deputy
Prime Minister and spokesman of the Turkish government, made statements about
the Turkish aid to the breakaway regime and the negotiations for the solution of
the Cyprus problem.
Speaking
to the press after a meeting of the Turkish Council of Ministers, Kurtulmus said
that Deputy Prime Minister Responsible for Cyprus Affairs Tugrul Turkes,
informed the Council on Turkey-“TRNC” relations and added that in the framework
of this presentation the financial aid of Turkey to the breakaway regime was
examined.
He
said that Turkey has a national responsibility to offer aid to the “TRNC” and
expressed the hope that until the end of the current year a new situation will
emerge for the breakaway regime. He also said that in case a solution is
reached, Turkey’s aid will take another form. He, however, said that that they
also discussed ways so that Turkey will continue to offer aid to the “TRNC” with
a new and more powerful vision in case no agreement is reached in the
negotiations or in case the existence of two separate communities is not
accepted in Cyprus.
He
went on adding that the negotiations will continue until the beginning of the
new year and said that the issue of security and of the territorial adjustment
are two very important issues for Turkey.
(CS)
3.
Turkey and Israel signed deal to normalize ties
According
to Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News newspaper (online, 28.06.16), Ankara and
Tel Aviv signed a deal to normalize ties on June 28 after six years of strained
relations.
The
director-general of Israel’s Foreign Ministry, Dore Gold, signed the deal in Tel
Aviv, private broadcaster CNN Türk has reported, while Turkish Foreign Ministry
Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioğlu signed the accord for the Turkish side in
Ankara, according to state-run Anadolu Agency.
Turkish
and Israeli Prime Ministers announced on June 27 that a deal to bring an end to
the strained ties between the two countries had been reached and a deal would be
signed on June 28.
Relations
between Turkey and Israel had come to a halt after Israeli commandoes killed 10
Turkish pro-Palestinian activists on the Mavi Marmara aid flotilla in May 2010,
as activists tried to breach an Israel’s Gaza blockade.
According
to the deal, Israel will pay $20 million in compensation to the relatives of the
Mavi Marmara victims.
In
exchange for the compensation, all claims against Israeli soldiers in Turkey
will be dropped. As the deal will be an international agreement approved by the
parliament, it will be positioned above domestic law and all charges against
Israeli navy officers will need to be dropped.
Turkey
obtained aid concessions to reach Palestine, with a vessel carrying 10,000 tons
of humanitarian aid setting off on July 1 from Turkey to Israel’s Ashdod port.
While
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said the embargo on Gaza would “largely
be lifted under the leadership of Turkey,” Israeli Prime Minister Binali
Yıldırım said that his country’s maritime blockade of the Gaza Strip would
remain following the agreement.
The
construction of a new power station and a desalination plant for drinking water
was also among the deals agreed upon in the accord.
4.
Turkey and Russia take step to mend ties; a phone conversation between
Erdogan and Putin on June 29
According
to Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News newspaper (online, 27.06.16), Turkey’s
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressed his “regret and sorrow” to Russian
President Vladimir Putin in a letter addressing the downing of a Russian jet
and the killing of two Russian pilots in 2015, expressing his desire to restore
bilateral ties, the Turkish and Russian presidencies have said.
The
Kremlin said on June 27 that Putin received a letter from Erdogan that was later
confirmed by the Turkish presidency that said Ankara and Moscow had “agreed to
take necessary steps to improve the relationship”.
“I
want to once again express my sympathy and deep condolences to the family of the
Russian pilot who died and I say: ‘I’m sorry’,” Erdogan said in the letter,
according to the Kremlin.
“The
letter states, in particular, that Russia is a friend to Turkey and a strategic
partner, with whom Turkish authorities would not wish to spoil relations”, it
said, adding Erdogan “expressed his desire to resolve the situation connected to
the downing of a Russian military aircraft”. The Kremlin said Erdogan also said
that Turkey was ready to react together with Russia against the crisis in the
region and fight terrorism.
The
letter was confirmed by Erdogan’s chief foreign policy adviser, Ibrahim Kalın,
later in the day through a statement.
The
letter follows a series of goodwill gestures from Turkey to Russia in a bid to
normalize the bilateral relationship that has been severely hit due to heavy
trade and tourism sanctions imposed by Moscow.
Earlier
in the day, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım heralded “good developments”
with Russia as he said they would be announced in the near future. “Both the
Turkish and Russian people want an end to this crisis. They both believe [this
crisis] is nonsense. What falls on us as governments is to meet this expectation
of our peoples without delay. There are good developments in this direction and
we’ll soon announce them to our people,” Yıldırım told reporters on June 27.
Earlier
in the day Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş touched on prospected
normalization with Russia as well, saying, “There are increasing signs that
bilateral tension between Turkey and Russia is softening.”
“We
are observing some signs of a softening of the relationship following letters
sent to the Russian authorities from our President and Prime Minister,”
Kurtulmus told reporters after the weekly cabinet meeting on June
27.
Erdogan
and Yıldırm sent congratulatory letters to their counterparts, Vladimir Putin
and Dmitry Medvedev, to mark the occasion of Russia’s national holiday on June
12.
Kurtulmus
said one positive signal was given after this by the Russian government, which
re-installed working permits for Turkish nationals to be recruited by Turkish
companies operating in Russia.
Meanwhile,
HDN (online, 28.06.16) reports that Erdogan will conduct a phone conversation
with Putin on either June 29 or June 30, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım has
said.
“A
phone conversation will be held between Putin and President on Wednesday or
Thursday regarding the Turkey-Russia relationship,” Yıldırım told TRT late on
June 27.
“‘If
only the incident [the downing of a Russian jet] had never happened,’ we say. We
have expressed our sadness. The de facto process to end the crisis has begun.
That will be followed by relations in the economic field. We will [pretend that]
the incidents within the six months never happened and continue on our way,”
Yıldırım said.
Turkish
presidential sources have said Russian President Vladimir Putin will make a
“thank you call” to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at 12 p.m. on June 29,
private broadcaster CNN Turk has reported.
5.
Cavusoglu accepted Russia's invitation to attend BESC meeting in
Sochi
According
to Turkish daily Sabah newspaper (online, 28.06.16), Turkey’s Foreign
Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will attend the Organization of the Black Sea Economic
Cooperation (BSEC) meeting in the Russian city of Sochi in July, sources
said on Monday, shortly after the Kremlin and Presidential Spokesperson İbrahim
Kalın confirmed that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a letter to Vladimir
Putin expressing regret about the downing of a Russian
jet.
According
to reports, Cavusoglu accepted Russia's invitation to attend the meeting and
could also hold a bilateral meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergey
Lavrov.
Although
the format of the meeting does not allow for bilateral meetings, Russia is ready
to hold such a meeting with Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Russian Deputy
Foreign Minister Vasiliy Nebenzya Nebenzya said on June 23. "We are not running
away or hiding from anyone" and are open to all discussions, he
added.
6.
Columnists comment on Turkey-Israel rapprochement
Columnist
Murat Yetkin, writing in Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News newspaper (online,
28.06.16) under the title “Russia after Israel in Turkish rapprochement. What
next?”, comments on the deal between Turkey and Israel to normalize their
relations, implying that the economic boost between the two countries will the
transporting of Israeli gas to Europe via Turkey.
Yetkin
further writes: “In the morning hours of June 27, before the Turkish-Israeli
deal was officially announced, the diplomatic backstage was hit by another big
piece of news. Something was cooking on the Turco-Russian front. A statement
could be expected from Moscow at 14.00 GMT (4 p.m. in both Moscow and Ankara).
That statement could be a sign for more positive developments within the week.
Indeed,
a statement was made by Kremlin as expected. It said President Erdoğan had sent
a letter to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. (…)
This
letter is the most important indication so far for a normalization of relations.
Because right after the announcement in Moscow, Ankara announced that Turkish
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu had accepted the invitation of his Russian
counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, to join the Black Sea Economic Cooperation meetings
in Sochi on July 1. There may be some other steps in between before then,
according to diplomatic sources.
Erdogan
and the Justice and Development Party (AK Parti) government seem to be trying to
recover from the diplomatic regression in recent years, which has resulted in
Turkey losing friends in the neighbourhood.
There is a tendency within the AK Party circles to link these recovery attempts
to the stepping down of former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who used to be
Erdogan’s foreign policy right hand man.
In
Turkish diplomatic circles, speculation over the next steps now focuses on
Cyprus, the visa deal with the European Union, and perhaps Egypt as a more
distant probability.
But due to the fact that Erdogan has proposed working together with Putin on
‘regional crises and terrorism’, Syria might also come into the picture. Of
course, that would depend on the deal with Russia, if that ends up becoming a
reality like the deal with Israel.”
On
the same issue, columnist Erdal Saglam, writing in Turkish daily Hurriyet
newspaper (28.06.16) under the title “A positive step on the normalization with
Israel”, reports that the most positive result from the economic point of view
is that the Eastern Mediterranean natural gas will be transferred to Europe
through Turkey and added that it is known that this natural gas pipeline is one
of the most important reasons for a political reconciliation.
Saglam
argues that in order for this pipeline to be realized the Cyprus problem should
also be solved, adding that despite the increase of hopes for a Cyprus
settlement, the problems have been increased during the last months. He noted
that it has been mentioned that with the pressure of the EU and the USA,
everyone should be mobilized for a solution in Cyprus.
Meanwhile,
columnist Ceyda Karan, writing in Turkish daily Cumhuriyet newspaper (27.06.16),
under the title “Fragile Deal, Bruised Charisma”, referred also to the natural
gas as following: “Shipment of natural gas of one trillion metric cubic feet
from Leviathan and Tamar fields together with natural gas from Aphrodite field
in Cyprus to Europe via Turkey is being presented as the economic basis of the
deal. The fact of the matter is that this is the trump card Israel is
holding. At the moment, the gas deal is on hold following a ruling from the
Israeli High Court. It is difficult to implement the project without
resolving the Cyprus question. In other words, who knows when this will
happen…”
(DPs)
7.
Milliyet argues that Turkey will become an energy
bridge
Sefa
Karahasan, correspondent of Turkish daily Milliyet newspaper (28.06.16) in the
occupied area of Cyprus, writes that the normalization of Turkey-Israel
relations will take effect on the energy field.
Citing
diplomatic sources, the efforts to sell the natural gas found in the Leviathan
field to Europe from Cyprus through Turkey are being continued for a long time.
These efforts were also discussed at the meeting of the National Security
Council and the view that the most cost-efficient way was through Turkey was
mentioned. The natural gas could be transferred to Turkey through underwater
pipelines like the water project of transferring water from Turkey to the
occupied area of Cyprus, the paper writes.
(DPs)
8.
Chapter 33 of Turkey's EU accession process to be opened on
Thursday
According
to Turkish daily Sabah newspaper (online, 28.06.16), Chapter 33 of Turkey's
European Union accession process, which covers economic and financial
provisions, will be opened on Thursday.
Turkey's
Ambassador to the EU, Selim Yenel, told Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency (AA)
on Tuesday that the opening of Chapter 33 was significant since it is usually
opened close to a country's membership, thus contributing to "keeping the
accession process alive".
"A
total of 16 chapters will have been opened after Chapter 33 opens this week,"
Yenel said, adding that there were still five chapters being blocked by the
Greek Cypriot Administration (editor’s note: as he refers to the Republic of
Cyprus).
"If
there is progress on the Cyprus issue, and a final resolution is reached, then
these [five] chapters will be able to be promptly opened and membership
negotiations will be back to their normal pace," he
said.
Yenel
also said that Turkish and EU officials would hold an intergovernmental
conference on the opening of Chapter 33 on Thursday, with Foreign Minister
Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Finance Minister Naci Ağbal and EU Minister Ömer Çelik
attending.
In
addition to Chapter 33, Çavuşoğlu and Çelik will also be discussing five key
criteria for visa-free European access, Yenel said. "They will meet with the
first vice-president of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, after the
intergovernmental conference in order to discuss the remaining five benchmarks.
They will establish a roadmap in this regard. Our goal is to ensure visa
liberalization at the earliest," Yenel added.
9.
Distribution of the water from Turkey started in the occupied area of Cyprus
Under
the title: “Finally!”, Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (29.06.16) reports
that according to a statement by the self-styled ministry of agriculture and
natural resources, the distribution of the water transferred from Turkey has
started in the occupied area of Cyprus.
According
to the paper, the water started being distributed in occupied Famagusta.
Today the water will also be distributed to occupied Morfou and all the other
“municipalities” that signed the subscription agreement.
(CS)
10.
Economic aid from Turkey to the breakaway regime for 2016 will be 927 million
Turkish Lira
Turkish
Cypriot daily Havadis newspaper (28.06.16) reports about the economic aid that
Turkey will offer to the occupied area of Cyprus, in the framework of the
economic protocol, for 2016 and notes that this will be 927,895,149.55 Turkish
Lira.
According
to the paper, the agreement of the economic protocol signed between Turkey and
the breakaway regime on May 27, 2016, was approved by the “assembly” on June 20,
2016 and it will be implemented after it was published in the “official
gazette”. The protocol was also signed by the Turkish Cypriot leader, Mustafa
Akinci.
(CS)
11.
Cittaslow assembly will be held in the occupied area of Cyprus in
2019
According
to illegal Bayrak television (online, 27.06.16), the “municipality” of the
occupied village Galatia has officially become a member of Cittaslow during the
assembly of the Cittaslow International which was held in the Portugal city of
Vizela
It
received its membership certificate and Cittaslow flag officially making it a
member.
With
the membership of occupied Galatia village, together with occupied village Agios
Sergios and occupied village Lefka now it has paved the way for the “TRNC”
(editor’s note: the breakaway regime in the occupied area of the Republic of
Cyprus) to be represented at the national level.
Meanwhile
during the assembly, a decision was taken to hold the 2019 Cittaslow assembly in
the “TRNC”.
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