2nd President of TRNC, Mehmet Ali Talat was hosted at the “Economy Table” TV programme under the moderation of Prof. Dr. Salih Katırcıoğlu, Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) Business and Economics Faculty, Banking and Finance Department Chair and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bilge Öney, Finance Department academic staff. “Recent development about Cyprus” were discussed in the programme.
Mehmet Ali Talat had a short meeting with Prof. Dr. Abdullah Y. Öztoprak, EMU Rector; Prof. Dr. Halil Nadiri Vice-Rector for Promotion and Development; Derviş Ekşici, EMU Public Relations and Press Director and with the programme moderators-Prof. Dr. Salih Katırcıoğlu and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bilge Öney.
Prof. Dr. Katırcıoğlu, who mentioned that they have discussed whether Cyprus Greek side will show any flexibility in the negotiations due to their financial situation, indicated that Greek negotiator Andreas Mavroyannis made announcements on not binding Cyprus issue to economic crisis. Talat mentioned the changes in the attitudes of citizens from South Cyprus and added that economists in the South also believe that economy will not relax without a solution. Talat indicated that an agreement would not only increase investments but also contribute to the sector and this will reflect positively on the economy. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Öney, who recorded that South Cyprus is closer to a solution because of their economic conditions, also highlighted that when the bigger picture is observed it can be said that solution issue in Cyprus is discussed not because of internal factor but only by pressure from external factors and this creates a negative situation as well. Talat, who shared the same view, indicated that it is very difficult to solve the Cyprus problem without a mediator or arbiter and confidence building measures, for most of the time, are barriers for a certain solution.