Forced marriage not an option, says Turkish Cypriot president

Frustration over the failure to find a solution to the deadlock on Cyprus will not result in Turks of the island succumbing to pessimism, said the president of northern Cyprus.

Warning that they would start assessing their alternatives if a solution was not found, President Mehmet Ali Talat explained in an interview with the Turkish Daily News that they would not sit idly and allow events to dictate their future.

Speaking ahead of the Sept. 5 meeting with Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos, Talat said their efforts would be directed at a settlement and that they expected the resumption of peace talks.

“But if the Greek Cypriots do not want a united island, then we cannot go for a forced marriage,” Talat said at his residence near the Green Line dividing the capital Nicosia.

He said the mood was changing in the international arena due to their approval of the United Nations peace plan in 2004, arguing that no one was blaming Turkish Cypriots for the continued division on the island.