Cyprus conflict

Barely a fortnight into his tenure as prime minister, Papandreou has made clear his willingness to engage in his country's perennial conflict with Turkey over Cyprus. Having visited Istanbul earlier this month, he held talks with President Demetris Christofias, the Greek Cypriot leader, in Nicosia on Monday, hoping to forge a common front on the island's reunification and Turkey's EU bid.

In a marked departure from his predecessor's passivity on the issue, Papandreou, who is also his country's foreign minister, declared that Cyprus would be Greece's foreign policy priority under his leadership.

A new spirit

Christofias and Papandreou declared themselves in favor of Turkey's entry to the European Union, at least in principle. "The goal is for Turkey to become a full member," Papandreou told reporters, "I am not in favor of a special association of Turkey with the European Union as long as it fulfills its obligations."

Both Papandreou and Christofias expressed the belief that Turkey's EU course would be to their mutual benefit and vowed to continue their close cooperation to promote a solution to the Cyprus problem.

Credited with boosting ties with neighbouring Turkey when he was foreign minister in the 1990s, in cooperation with Turkey's late foreign minister Ismail Cem, Papandreou said "this is an issue which we can either solve and thus unite us, or keep us divided."

Central problems remain

But Papandreou did not alter Greece's conditions for progress. Greece and Cyprus have made the continued presence of more than 35,000 Turkish troops in the northern third of the island a key obstacle to Turkey's entry to the EU.

"I will always be sincere about problems that divide us and problems that we must solve, and a major problem is that there is still occupation in the Cyprus Republic," Papandreou said, "It cannot be permitted for Turkey to have occupation troops in an EU member state, especially for a candidate country."

Turkey's EU bid comes under review in December, and Papandreou's statement comes at a crucial juncture in UN-backed peace negotiations.

Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat have been holding talks since September 2008. But progress has been slow, with the two sides remaining seriously divided on the issues of security, property and land swaps. They are next due to meet on Wednesday and Thursday.

Turkey invaded northern Cyprus in response to a brief Greek-inspired coup in 1974, and has kept a strong military presence there ever since. The island is now in the EU represented by Greek Cypriots, but EU membership is suspended in the north, where the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state recognized only by Ankara.

Turkey has been urged to open its ports and airports to Cyprus, whose government it still does not recognize.

bk/AFP/dpa/Reuters
Editor: Michael Lawton