Athens and Nicosia said on Monday they supported Turkey's bid to become a full member of the European Union, saying Ankara's help was needed for a Cyprus peace settlement. "The goal is for Turkey to become a full member...I am not in favour of a special association of Turkey with the European Union as long as it fulfills its obligations towards the European Union," Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said on the first day of a two-day official visit. Both Papandreou and Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias believe that Turkey's EU course would be to their mutual benefit and vowed to continue their close cooperation to promote a solution to the Cyprus problem.
Credited with boosting ties with neighbouring Turkey when he was foreign minister in the 1990s, in cooperation with Turkey's late foreign minister Ismail Cem, Papandreou said "this is an issue which we can either solve and thus unite, us or keep us divided."
Greece and Turkey have been at loggerheads regarding Cyprus since 1974, when Turkey invaded the northern part of the island in response to a brief Greek-inspired coup.
Since then, Greek Cypriots have lived in the south of Cyprus and Turkish Cypriots in the north, split by a United Nations-supervised buffer zone, which runs through the heart of the island's capital.
The island's division remains a major hurdle in Turkey's EU negotiations, which began in October 2005 and have been partially suspended because of the political impasse.
Turkey does not recognize the Greek Cypriot government and has been pressured to open its ports and airports to Cyprus.
Ankara supports the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state in northern Cyprus, where it has stationed an estimated 40,000 troops. Greek Cypriots, on the other hand, say they will not agree to Turkey joining the bloc as long as the island is partitioned.
"Turkey has obligations that it must fulfill, otherwise it will not be able to continue on its EU accession course," said Christofias.
The Greek and Turkish Cypriot governments launched renewed peace talks in September 2008, but have only made slow progress. There is concern that the island is sliding towards permanent partition, a situation that could severely strain both Turkey-EU relations and those between Ankara and Athens.
20.10.2009
