Becket says legal difficulties in direct flights to Turkish occupied areas

British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said on Tuesday that ”legally there are great difficulties” in commencing direct flights to the Turkish occupied areas of Cyprus.
Speaking in Ankara during a joint press conference with Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullah Gul, Beckett said Britain never said there would be direct flights to the occupied areas but would request legal advice on the issue.
Beckett added that the advice she received was that ”legally there are great difficulties” in this issue.
Gul said ”we are very thankful to the United Kingdom for its support” towards Turkey’s bid to join the EU, adding that ”Turkey-UK relations are very strong, the two countries have been allies in NATO for decades and share similar views on many topics.”
He noted that they also discussed ”bilateral relations, war on international terror, Cyprus, the Palestinian-Israeli dispute, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Iran and other international issues.”
Beckett said Britain will continue to support Turkey in EU-related matters and noted that the EU process may be a long and difficult one for Turkey.
”We will be the most important supporter of Turkey,” she said, adding that ”Turkey‘s EU membership will be to the benefit of both Turkey and the EU.”