04/11/2005 (Agence Europe) - In an interview with Le Monde of 4 November, the Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos said that "a Turkey which is turned towards Europe is better for us than a Turkey turning its back on it", but that Turkey must not join the EU "at any price, not in a second-class deal, which the Europeans have now agreed to". On the question of whether Nicosia was stopping "direct trade between Northern Cyprus and the rest of the world", Mr Papadopoulos replied: "this is not an economic question, but a political one. What you call direct trade would also be a means of raising the status of Northern Cyprus". On this, the president described as "absolutely counterproductive" the fact that the "president" of Northern Cyprus, Mehemet Talat, had been invited to meet Condoleezza Rice. When asked about the Annan plan for the reunification of Cyprus, Mr Papadopoulos noted: "I told the Turkish Prime Minister that it was a matter of complete indifference to me whether the plan was called Annan 6 or Erdogan 1, as long as the concerns of the Greek Cypriots are taken into account and the next stages are well prepared". In 10 years or so, does he think there will be a "reunification like in Germany, or an acrimonious divorce like Czechoslovakia?". To this question, the President replied: "neither. I think that many provisions of the Annan plan, which are unacceptable to us, will be able to find a solution within the EU. They will no longer be Cyprus's problems, but European problems, for example the common currency or economic policy”.