Row brewing over Straw’s Cyprus visit?

Greek Cypriots appear to be taking the proposed visit by Britain’s foreign minister Jack Straw as another excuse to pick a fight with Britain over the Cyprus problem.

During his visit Straw will reportedly visit Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat. The fact that this visit will be reportedly be at Talat’s official residence as president of the unrecognised Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus has irked the Greek Cypriot leadership.

Speaking in his capacity as acting president, leader of the main coalition party Demetris Christofias, said that the Republic and its sovereignty must be respected during the visit.

“We would like to see Britain behaving the way it did when Britain’s Deputy PM John Prescott visited Cyprus,” he said.

Prescott, who had contacts on both sides of the divide in late October last year, met with the premier Ferdi Sabit Soyer at the offices of the British High Commission in the north.

Last week Government Spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides said “we have no objection to meetings of officials with representatives of the Turkish Cypriot community but we do not agree with visits to so called official bureaus or the display of symbols of the secessionist regime, something which is contrary to the UN Security Council resolutions.”