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To: regli who wrote (60682)	12/16/2006 4:25:39 AM
From: Haim R. Branisteanu	Respond to of 116555

regli, I fully agree with the writer. I stopped posting my opinions on this issue, on this board as one of the participants which I respect was offended - due to a personal tragedy. "If Turkey is in the wrong, so too are the European governments that have reneged on a pledge to end the isolation of Turkish-occupied Northern Cyprus. The real villain anyway is the Nicosia government. Backed by its sponsor in Athens, since 2004 it has wrecked successive efforts at compromise. The Turkish side has accepted a balanced United Nations plan for reunification of the island. The Greek Cypriots have rejected it, seeking added advantage by threatening to hold the rest of the EU to ransom." It is very sad and we ALL will pay the price. Presently I am dealing in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, and I know how this resonates there. It is negative. I can only assume that aside from Turkey, the same insulting and degrading feeling are in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and the other “stans” . For those interested to know more, please visit the CIA Factbook to understand the huge loss to the West. Azerbaijan, but more so Kazakhstan aside from huge oil and gas and copper reserves has the biggest deposits of Uranium and huge potential in growing various grains,(they will be the next bread basket to the world) similar situation for the other “stans” which are Muslim by religion but cosmopolitan by state. Personally I am more upset about this EU failure and hypocrisy, than about the US failure in Iraq, which resulted also because we failed to understand that the war in Iraq means also a war against Iran for which we were completely unprepared. Saddam kept Iran in a bottle but endangered the world - now we have another mad man in Iran instead. In this case, of EU / Old Europe brushing aside Turkey, the failure of Old Europe is much more greater and condemnable than anything the US has done recently – as Rumsfeld once said they are OLD EUROPE – may I add - chauvinistic and filled with hatred toward any one not like them. One should not wonder why an Austrian born madman called Hitler came to power in Europe. The question is what has Old Europe truly learned after WWII, aside from passing laws to cover their hypocrisy and shame.

To: regli who wrote (60682)	12/16/2006 5:06:14 AM
From: Haim R. Branisteanu	Respond to of 116555

UN Council Urges Greek,Turk Cypriots To Put Aside Mistrust UNITED NATIONS (AP)--The Security Council extended the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Cyprus for six months on Friday and called on Greek and Turkish Cypriots to put aside their mutual mistrust and start moving toward a resumption of talks to reunify the divided island. The resolution adopted unanimously by the council welcomed a July 8 U.N.-brokered agreement in which the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders recognized that the status quo was unacceptable and that a comprehensive settlement was "both desirable and possible." Cyprus has been divided between a Greek Cypriot south and a Turkish-occupied north since 1974, when Turkey invaded after an abortive Athens-backed coup by supporters of union with Greece. The resolution extended the mandate of the U.N. force, which has 850 troops and 65 police deployed mainly between the two sides, until June 15. In the July 8 agreement, both sides agreed to start immediately on two-tier negotiations - one tackling everyday issues to build confidence, and the other dealing with more serious political disputes including territorial and power-sharing arrangements in a federal state. But in a report to the council earlier this month, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said continued lack of trust and "suspicion of each other's true motives" has so far prevented the implementation of any of those decisions. Annan expressed hope that "a stop will be put to the so-called blame game that has been carried out relentlessly and unhelpfully by officials and the press of both sides, contravening the letter and the spirit of the July 8 agreement" - a view supported by the Security Council. The resolution expresses "full support for the process agreed by the leaders" and for proposals by Undersecretary-General for Political Affairs Ibrahim Gambari on Nov. 15 on a way forward, including discussions between the Greek and Turkish communities under the auspices of U.N. special envoy Michael Moller. A peace blueprint drafted by Annan was approved by Turkish Cypriots, but rejected by Greek Cypriots in separate referenda in April 2004, which meant Cyprus joined the European Union as a divided nation - with only the Greek Cypriot south enjoying E.U. benefits. Since mid-2005, all the parties have asked Annan to use his "good offices" again to tackle the three-decade division of the Mediterranean island. But the secretary-general has moved cautiously, consulting with various officials to test the commitment of Greek and Turkish Cypriots to make the compromises needed to finally reach a settlement. In his report - the last before stepping down as secretary-general on Dec. 31 after 10 years - Annan expressed regret at "the continued stalemate in the political process and the missed opportunities." He said it was important that implementation of the July 8 agreement begin without delay, a view echoed by the Security Council which called for "early completion of the preparatory phase so that a fully fledged good offices process may resume as soon as possible." Annan stressed that only if progress is achieved will his successor, Ban Ki-moon, be in a position to appoint a special adviser on Cyprus, and he reiterated that "the responsibility lies primarily with the Cypriots themselves." The Security Council expressed hope that the preparatory phase will "prepare the ground for fully fledged negotiations leading to a comprehensive and durable settlement." Greece's U.N. Ambassador Adamantios Vassilakis, whose two-year term on the council ends on Dec. 31, thanked members for maintaining the U.N. force for more than three decades and expressed hope that the July 8 agreement will enable the political process to move forward and lead to a settlement. "A Cypriot-owned solution through a Cypriot-owned process with the invaluable assistance of the international community - that is the way forward," Vassilakis said. (END) Dow Jones Newswires 12-15-06 1622ET