An MP from the EU Liberal Democrats Group, Sajjad Karim, who is currently in the TRNC for contacts, was yesterday (27 February) received by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Serdar Denktas.

During the meeting, Serdar Denktas said the approval of the Financial Aid Regulation by decoupling it from the Direct Trade Regulation had damaged the Turkish Cypriot peoples' sympathy towards the EU and no government in Turkey would ever give up on the Turkish Cypriot people, or their rights in Cyprus. He said: "Our biggest regret is that the EU has not acknowledged the realities in Cyprus".

Indicating that neither the Financial Aid Regulation nor the Direct Trade Regulation had been requested by the TRNC and that they were proposals put forward by the EU after the referendum, Serdar Denktas said: "We've been following for months now whether or not they have the power to implement their own proposals".

Pointing out that he had told EU officials on numerous occasions that separating the two regulations would be of no use, Serdar Denktas said despite the objections of the Turkish Cypriot side the EU had not given up its idea of approving the Financial Aid Regulation because it would mean rewarding the Turkish Cypriots for voting 'yes' in the referendum. He said the Turkish Cypriot side had constantly stressed that the Financial Aid Regulation should be approved in such a way that wouldn't make the Turkish Cypriots dependent on the Greek Cypriots, but the EU had not kept its promise.

Highlighting that nothing had been gained or lost with the approval of the Financial Aid Regulation, Serdar Denktas said there still existed a promise that hadn't been kept. He said: "Our existing economic structure and Turkey's assistance and aid is enough to improve our lives. It doesn't make any difference whether we get this aid or not…"

Continuing, Serdar Denktas said as long as EU officials who are visiting or are going to visit the TRNC left a door open for better understanding the Turkish Cypriot side's stance and conveyed the realities that they saw, then the EU would realize its mistakes.

For his part, Sajjid Karim said he would convey the messages he had received to the relevant bodies and authorities and would propose that the EU should initiate more dialogue the Turkish Cypriots and people living in Turkey.

He said:

"I assure you that I will convey the messages I received here and will propose that the EU should take a step for the solution of the Cyprus problem, which is gaining more importance each day for Turkey's accession and start a dialogue with the Turkish Cypriots and Turkish people living in Turkey".

Also indicating that there is an insufficient representation of Turkish Cypriots within the EU, Karim said he would also convey this problem to the relevant authorities and bodies because the representation issue was important in decisions taken in the EU. He added: "As the EU we're aware of the Turkish Cypriot peoples constructive approach regarding EU membership. We need to exert efforts to keep this alive and it's our duty to do something". He added that the EU also had to regain the Turkish Cypriots trust in the EU.