Turkey's new foreign minister left Istanbul Saturday for talks on the Cyprus issue with United States officials and with Turkish-Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, who is recuperating from heart surgery there, according to Anatolia news agency.
Yasar Yakis told journalists at the airport in Istanbul he would discuss with Denktash the blueprint for settling the 28-year division of Cyprus recently proposed by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan.
The UN chief proposed that Cyprus become a Swiss-style confederation, composed of two equal states, that would join the European Union (EU). He is pushing Denktash and Greek Cypriot leader Glafcos Clerides to agree on the plan before the December 12th summit that is expected to approve an enlargement of the EU.
The Turkish Foreign Minister said he would "brief Denktash on the impressions we have gathered from our contacts in European capitals, and I think that he will have a bit more time to study the Kofi Annan plan".
"Denktash knows the Turkish position. There has been no fundamental change in what that involves," he added. (Albawaba.com)
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