Letter written by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Serdar Denktas to UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, on 6 September 2004

In a letter written to the UN Secretary-General on 6 September 2004, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Serdar Denktas, stated that the Turkish Cypriot side had proven its dedication to reunification on the basis of partnership and political equality and its firm conviction in this regard remains unchanged.

The full text of the letter is as follows:

"Excellency,

It has come to my attention that the representative of the Greek Cypriot administration at the United Nations has circulated yet another letter concerning the so-called series of confidence building measures proposed by the Greek Cypriot side on 6 August 2004. In this connection, I would like to bring to your attention the following pertinent views and concerns of the Turkish Cypriot side.

The said initiatives of the Greek Cypriot administration are obviously an attempt to neutralize the negative repercussions of the situation the Greek Cypriot side has encountered with the results of the referendum. As you no doubt are well aware, despite our constructive approach towards improving the relations between the two sides on the island and even implementing whenever possible what we have proposed unilaterally, our efforts do not yield the desired effect due to the political impediments created by the Greek Cypriot administration.

With the latest so-called proposal which includes the circulation of public-service vehicles owned by Turkish Cypriots and the facilitation of the movement of goods as well as development contracts and economic relations between the two sides, we have witnessed, once again, the intention of the Greek Cypriot administration to extend its illegal authority to the Turkish Cypriot side as well as to continue holding our economic development hostage to its political considerations, confirming the major reason behind the resounding "no", which was to "upgrade and shield politically the Republic of Cyprus" as in Mr. Papadopoulos’ own words at his address to the Greek Cypriot people before the referenda on 7 April 2004.

The Greek Cypriot proposals attempt to curtail international efforts towards supporting the economic and social development of the Turkish Cypriot people. The EU Council proposals on special conditions for trade with North Cyprus and the Greek Cypriot objections in this regard are well known and need no further elaboration. Therefore, the timing and formulation of the Greek Cypriot proposals leave no room for doubt that they are mainly aimed at preventing the Council proposals from materializing and benefiting the Turkish Cypriot people.

For its part, the Turkish Cypriot people has proven it dedication to reunification on the basis of partnership and political equality and its firm conviction in this regard remains unchanged. The Greek Cypriot side, on the other hand, is not only far from accepting any kind of compromise but is yet to come to terms with the fact that the Cyprus question needs to be solved between the two political and sovereign equal peoples on the island.

We only hope that the Greek Cypriot side will adopt the necessary constructive approach without further delay and, instead of impeding international efforts, start cooperating towards lifting the economic, social and political restrictions which prevent the development of the Turkish Cypriot people. This is the only way to create another window of opportunity from the present impasse that they have created themselves.

Your Excellency, allow me to reiterate our firm dedication to attaining a just and durable solution based on bi-zonality and political equality. We only hope that the international community will not hesitate from taking the necessary concrete steps to ensure that the Greek Cypriot side adopts the same approach and commits itself to a just and viable solution by concrete action. We trust that your valuable efforts shall play an effective role in bringing about this desired outcome.