Talat must accept EU role

Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat must accept the important role of the EU in a Cyprus solution, British High Commissioner Peter Millett said Tuesday.

Invited to comment on Talat’s statement that the EU is a biased organization Millet said after a meeting with the Ecologists – Environmentalists Movement General Secretary George Perdikis, that “it is clear that the EU should play an important role in solving the Cyprus problem because the acquis communautaire must be implemented in the occupied areas in the future”.

Noting he did not read in detail Talat’s statements, he said “Talat must accept the fact that the EU should play a role for a Cyprus solution”.

On his meeting with Perdikis, Millett said it was a chance to listen to the party’s approach on the Cyprus problem and other issues, adding that he would their discussion to continue on environmental issues.

On his part, Perdikis said that they talked about the Cyprus problem and expressed his movement’s position that it cannot be solved on the basis of the Annan Plan.

He further said he raised the issue of the British Bases on the island, the facilities which the Republic of Cyprus grants to Britain and the need for Britain to fulfill its obligations towards Cyprus.