Divided island: Merkel Calls upon the Turkey in the Cyprus dispute

Germany will help the EU member state Cyprus: Chancellor Merkel has promised during her visit President Christofias support in the negotiations between Greeks and Turks. Turkey urged them to implement the agreed customs union of the two parts of the island. Nicosia - During her visit to Cyprus, Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) called the divided Mediterranean island for decades to further efforts for reunification.


Turkey asked them to move in the Cyprus dispute. Germany was willing to use its influence to Cyprus to help in the negotiations between Greeks and Turks, Merkel said on Tuesday in Nicosia. The population of the island must find the way to reunification but themselves. Agreed that Turkey should implement the Ankara Protocol, urged Merkel.

The protocol extends the Customs Union between Turkey and the EU to the members that joined in 2004 - including Cyprus - Of. This was also a precondition for opening accession negotiations with Turkey the EU. At the same time, Merkel presented in the dispute between Cyprus and the Turkish-occupied northern part of the island clearly below the EU partners.

"They have proved a great deal of compromise, which was from the other side so unfortunately not reciprocated," she told the Cypriot President Demetris Christofias after a meeting in Nicosia. At the first visit of a German government on Cyprus Merkel promised further support the EU partner Germany.

With the experience of German unification, as in the regulation of controversial issues of property, but Germany could only help if the negotiations between representatives of Cyprus and the northern part of the island had progressed, she said. Christofias also sees Germany because of his experience with federalism as a model, because a united Cyprus should be a confederation.

Progress was needed because of the conflict between the EU country of Cyprus and the NATO-member Turkey, the cooperation between the two organizations makes it difficult. Cyprus has been divided since the Turkish occupation of the northern part in 1974. Turkey recognizes Cyprus will not start.

In January, the United Nations have scheduled new talks in Geneva. On the eve of Merkel's visit Christofias had met the President of Northern Cyprus, Dervis Eroglu, after a long time for talks. He threw in front of Turkey on Tuesday to take only a few efforts to promote the reunification of the island.

Turkey lacks the "will" to find a solution, Christofias said at the press conference with the Chancellor. The Government of the Greek Republic of Cyprus referred to her trip as "historically significant". The pro-government Communist daily newspaper Haravgi "printed on its front page in German the word" Welcome ".

The right-wing paper "Simerini" welcomed the visit of the Chancellor, calling it "short, but important."

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Insel (wikipedia)