Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 06-11-20

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From: The Cyprus News Agency at <http://www.cyna.org.cy>

CONTENTS

[01] EU - TURKEY - CYPRUS

[02] ANNAN - TALAT - CYPRUS QUESTION

[03] SPOKESMAN - GAMBARI`S LETTER - RESPONSE

[04] OMERIYE TURKISH BATHS - EU PRIZE FOR CULTURAL HERITAGE

[01] EU - TURKEY - CYPRUS

In another development, EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn has said that a European Commission meeting on December 6 would be ``a logical moment to make a recommendation on the Commission`s part if Turkey has not fulfilled its obligations``.

Prime Minister of Finland Matti Vanhanen has said ``if there is no agreement and Turkey does not honour its commitments, the EU will need to consider the implications for the accession process``.

``As for deciding on an appropriate EU response... we expect the (European) Commission to come forward with recommendations during the first week of December,`` he said in a speech in Helsinki.

Vanhanen said he wanted the Commission, to quickly make a recommendation on Turkey`s compliance with the customs agreement so the bloc`s foreign ministers can weigh their response at a meeting on December 11.

``I want to make one thing very clear. The presidency has no intention of raising the Turkey issue at the December European Council,`` -- the EU summit on December 14-15 -- he said, adding: ``Decisions will be made before that.``

Commissioner Rehn stressed that the Turkey-Cyprus issue should not be allowed to dominate the mid-December EU summit.

[02] ANNAN - TALAT - CYPRUS QUESTION

I have urged that both parties work very closely with my representative on the island and that what is important is not declaration of intent, but I would want to see actions from both sides that narrows the gap between words and action and that indicates to me and my successor, that the parties are ready to resume and move ahead in earnest, Annan said.

In statements during a joint press conference he held with Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat in the Palais des Nations, in Geneva, Annan said that his meeting with Talat had been a very constructive one and that they discussed the status of the progress on the Cyprus talks.

[03] SPOKESMAN - GAMBARI`S LETTER - RESPONSE

Pashiardes expressed hope that the concerns the Turkish Cypriot side has regarding incomprehensible remarks in the letter do not constitute efforts to delay the process.

He stressed that the regeneration of the 8th July agreement and the continuation of the efforts of the EU Finnish Presidency, less than a month before the EU Summit, cannot in any way mean linking the Cyprus question with Turkey European obligations. Pashiardes said that these obligations and engagements of Turkey are irrelevant to the Cyprus question and are not linked with any developments to the problem

[04] OMERIYE TURKISH BATHS - EU PRIZE FOR CULTURAL HERITAGE

Speaking during the award ceremony, Europa Nostra Vice President Costas Carras read out the decision which said that the prize was given for the safeguarding of the authenticity and adaptation to contemporary needs of a distinctive landmark of the walled city of Nicosia and for the sensitive treatment of an Islamic architectural element in a multicultural context.

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