Turkey must pull troops out of Cyprus for EU bid: Greek PM
(NICOSIA) - New Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou on Monday warned Turkey it will have to pull its troops out of Cyprus if it wants to join the European Union.
"It cannot be permitted for Turkey to have occupation troops in an EU member state, especially for a candidate country," Papandreou told reporters during a visit to Cyprus.
The island has been divided for 35 years between Greek Cypriots backed by Athens and Turkish Cypriots supported by Ankara, which still has more than 35,000 troops stationed in the northern third.
Papandreou, who visited Istanbul earlier this month soon after being elected, held talks with President Demetris Christofias, the Greek Cypriot leader, on forging a common front on the island's reunification and Turkey's EU bid.
The Greek leader said he wanted to see Turkey become a full member of the European bloc, but only as long as it met its obligations towards Cyprus which it does not recognise.
"I will always be sincere about problems that divide us and problems that we must solve, and a major problem is that there is still occupation in the Cyprus Republic."
The visit to Cyprus by Papandreou, who is also foreign minister after his PASOK Socialists won October 4 elections, comes at a crucial juncture in UN-backed peace negotiations.
Turkey's EU bid comes under review in December, but Papandreou and Christofias refused to discuss what sort of action should be taken if Ankara failed to comply with its EU obligations.
But Christofias said Cyprus would not stand idly by while Turkey continued to block Cyprus aircraft and ships from its ports and not positively contribute to the reunification negotiations.
Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat have been holding UN-sponsored talks since September 2008 in a bid to find a peaceful settlement to the island's division.
Progress has been slow, however, with the two sides remaining deeply divided on the issues of security, property and land swaps. They are next due to meet on Wednesday and Thursday.
Cyprus has been divided since Turkey invaded the island in 1974 in response to a coup seeking to unite it with Greece.
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