The former president of Cyprus, Dr George Vassiliou, who is on a three-day official visit to Ireland, has described his talks with the Taoiseach as "very friendly", and says he is happy with the progress being made by Cyprus towards full membership of the EU.
Despite a warmer climate in diplomatic relations between Greece and Turkey, Dr Vassiliou said there had been no progress on the question of Turkey's presence in northern Cyprus and the division of the island. But he was certain the accession process must continue, and insisted Turkey could not veto Cypriot EU membership.
"If nothing happens before accession, a lot can happen after," he said. "Once Turkey realises it cannot stop accession, and the Taoiseach agrees that it is not entitled to, then Turkey will soon see it is in the interest of Turkish Cypriots, and of Turkey itself, to solve the problem."
He said Turkish Cypriots were in favour of Cypriot accession because it would "guarantee their lives, their human rights, and give them access to vital financial support for development". After accession, he was confident Cyprus would be "understanding and co-operative" when it came to the EU's dealings with Turkey.
Referring to the Balkans and the Middle East, he said Cyprus was a force for stability and democracy in the region. "As the outer flank of the EU in the Middle East, we will help the EU to continue its very creative and positive role in the region," he said.
Dr Vassiliou's visit includes talks with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, party and business leaders and officials from Government Departments and authorities. He was president of Cyprus from 1988 to 1993, and now heads the Cypriot negotiating team for accession to the EU.
He said he had been assured that Ireland was supporting the Cypriot accession "full-heartedly", and this had been backed up by technical help and advice and practical assistance.
Mr Cowen told Dr Vassiliou yesterday that Cyprus was well to the forefront of the applicant countries, having concluded 18 of the 29 chapters in the negotiation process. The Minister reiterated Ireland's willingness to help in the accession process, and reminded Dr Vassiliou of Ireland's full support for UN efforts to achieve a solution to the division of the island, based on a bizonal, bicommunal, federal approach.
Although the results of the Nice summit had not been greeted with enthusiasm by everyone, the candidate countries had every reason to be happy, because Nice had opened the way to enlargement, Dr Vassiliou said. "There could have been more, but this is not a reason to complain."
Asked whether 2003 was a realistic date for Cypriot accession, Dr Vassiliou said he did not expect it was possible for Cyprus to join by then. But he looked forward to completing negotiations early next year, "ideally during the Spanish presidency", with the accession treaties approved and signed later in the year.
Most of 2003 would be spent on ratification, "and a realistic date is January 1st, 2004, certainly before the European Parliament elections in the summer of 2004".