Ankara, 23/01/2004 (Agence Europe) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday during his monthly televised speech that, in the next few days, he will be announcing an initiative to rekindle talks on Cyprus. Mr Erdogan is to meet Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General in Davos this weekend at the World Economic Forum to discuss the plan on Cyprus which failed last year.
Mr Erdogan also felt that Turkey has "covered more than half the ground" toward EU membership. He stressed "a Turkey that is integrated into the EU will prevent political and cultural differences from developing into conflicts on a larger scale (…). Turkey will make a major contribution to peace, stability and security in Europe".