Turkish Cypriot president: Intergration with world the way forward for Cyprus

President Mehmet Ali Talat of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus said the secure future of Turkish Cypriot people lied in integration with the world and accession to the European Union.

"We can ensure this future by settling the Cyprus problem," Talat told reporters on his way back from Brussels, Belgium.

Talat defined his talks in Brussels fruitful, and said European Parliament's President Jersy Buzek was willing to visit the island.

President Talat also met Michael Leigh, the director general of the EU for enlargement, and EP's Turkey rapporteur Ria Oomen-Ruijten.

During his meetings with EU executives, Talat debated implementation of direct trade regulation and the Green Line Regulation and expressed his concerns over the paragraphs of a draft EP resolution regarding Turkey which referred to Cyprus problem.

"Ratification of such a report by the EP, which wants to contribute to settlement of Cyprus problem, will hamper its impartiality," Talat said.

However, he did not think the EU could be impartial because it included only the Greek Cypriot side of the island, he said.

Talat also delivered a speech on Cyprus controversy during a breakfast at the European Policy Center on the sidelines of his visit to Brussels.

/Hurriyet Daily News/