Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Tuesday he expected from Turkey the full, unconditional implementation of the Ankara protocol, “which implies removal of all obstacles to the free movement of goods and the free access to ports and airports for all EU member states including Cyprus.”
Rasmussen said during his single-day visit after talks in Nicosia with President Tassos Papadopoulos that the opening of accession negotiations on a number of chapters will depend on Turkey’s implementation of its contractual obligations to all member-states.
“Non compliance with this may have severe consequences with regard to the opening of negotiations on a number of chapters and any failure to implement Turkey’s obligation in full will affect the overall progress in the negotiations between Turkey and the EU and Turkey should take stock of that,” he warned.
As regards Cyprus, he said “the objective is very clear, Cyprus should be reunited. I strongly regret that it was not possible to find a solution before the entrance of Cyprus into the EU but now we should do our outmost to find a solution to that problem,” within the framework of the United Nations, he added.
Rasmussen also thanked Cyprus for its close cooperation and help during the evacuation of Danes from Lebanon, as 1500 of the 5800 Danish evacuees were transported through Cyprus.
Papadopoulos said their meeting covered a wide range of subjects concerning European issues, bilateral relations and the Cyprus problem.
Rasmussen said he hoped that a recent meeting between the President and the Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat “will pave the way for a positive and constructive process”.
Papadopoulos and Talat agreed on July 8 for their representatives to hold meetings on a technical level on issues that affect the day to day life of people and concurrently those that concern substantive issues.
Asked about Denmark’s participation in the UN force on Lebanon, Rasmussen said “we have discussed the situation in Lebanon and I can confirm that Denmark is ready to contribute to the UN operation through a maritime presence.”
“We have not discussed the possibility of having Danish military facilities on Cyprus. I don’t think it will be necessary in relation to a maritime contribution. But we appreciate very much that Cyprus has invited other countries to establish military facilities here,” he added.
Asked about the early release in August of three British soldiers, who had been serving a life sentence for the murder of a Danish tourist guide 12 years ago, Papadopoulos said “no punishment for murder, such a heinous crime, can ever be fair. We don’t have the death penalty in Cyprus, but we have laws which impose the conditions under which convicted criminals have to serve in prison.”
“They gained remission of their sentence when my predecessor was elected. I gave them none and under the law they are entitled to certain days per month of remission of their sentence. And they have a right and this is a country where the rule of law prevails and there was nothing that could be done to keep them in prison. Parents of the victim wrote to me and I wrote back to them and I know that this is a very emotional issue. I wish that the law would allow me to do something else,” he added.
The Danish Prime Minister returned home late Tuesday.
