The TRNC’s Deputy Prime Minister, Serdar Denktas has said that the Turkish Cypriots should be well prepared for a possible solution to the Cyprus problem and added that it would be wrong to sign an agreement for the sake of benefiting from the hydrocarbon resources of the island, Turkish Cypriot daily ‘Afrika’ reports.
Addressing the 51st General Assembly of the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce (TCCC) on Saturday, Denktas called on the European Union to initiate an accession process with the Turkish Cypriots and to disregard issues of political recognition.
Denktas said that the Turkish Cypriot economy had not been ready for a solution in 2004 and is not ready now. He expressed the belief that an agreement will be signed in Cyprus, claiming that “most probably an agreement will be signed with pressure from outside”.
He noted that should there be a solution, he expect support from the Chamber of Commerce on the issue of the kind of derogations required from the EU, which need to take into account the “deficiencies of the country’s economy”.
