Interview on Antenna TV with Tom Ellis

MR. ELLIS: Mr. Secretary, thank you for joining us, and welcome to Antenna TV.

SECRETARY POWELL: Thank you very much.

MR. ELLIS: How balanced is the Annan plan, since Turkey supports it warmly and 60 percent of Turkish Cypriots say they will vote for it, while 70 percent of Greek Cypriots oppose it?

SECRETARY POWELL: I think it's a very balanced plan. Now, the plan can't satisfy every element of the Cypriot position on the Turkish side or the Cypriot position on the Greek side, but I think the Secretary General and all the people who have worked so hard on this plan have done a very good job in putting a balanced plan forward. And I hope that as people come to understand the plan better over the remaining week, they will realize that this is a good plan and it is deserving of a "yes" vote on the 24th of April.

I also hope that everybody looking at this plan will recognize that if we don't get approval for this plan, if the international community, if the Cypriot people, do not get a "yes" vote on this plan, then what's next? There is no Plan B. There is nothing else coming along. And I think a marvelous opportunity, a great opportunity to bring the island back together, will be lost.

So I hope over the next several days the Greek Cypriots will examine this very, very carefully, and I hope that the people will come to a conclusion that this is in their interest, the interest of the Turkish Cypriots, the interest of the island and the region, and they will vote yes.

MR. ELLIS: If your sincere goal is a solution, which means a "yes" vote from both communities, why not postpone the referendum for a while to improve the chances for the plan being accepted?

SECRETARY POWELL: I don't know that postponement does anything. This is a problem that's been there for 40 years. Everybody has followed the debate in recent weeks and months. Everybody saw the plan come together. They saw the compromises that were being made. To delay it now just seems to me to put it off, push it off into -- into when? And is more time really needed to understand that this plan serves the interests of both parties?

And when I look at the fact that we just had a conference yesterday, a donors conference, the international community has put up over $800 million, the United States has committed $400 million to assist with the reconciliation efforts that are going to be coming along, it seems to me this is the time to make the right decision and to vote yes, not to delay, hoping that over a period of time that people will have a different view of the plan.

We have to act on this plan and not hope for something better, or that lightning will strike if we delay. Let's move now and let's vote yes on the 24th. I hope that's the conclusion that the Cypriots will come to on both sides of the island.

MR. ELLIS: Now, the Greek Cypriots want assurances from the U.S., the European Union and the Security Council that Turkey will implement the plan. Now, you went to war, accusing Iraq of violating its commitments to the UN. How tough would you be with Turkey in such a case?

SECRETARY POWELL: We have made it clear, the United Nations has made it clear, the Secretary General of the United Nations has made it clear and the European Union has made it clear that we expect both parties to abide by all elements of the plan. And I have been encouraged by the statements coming from Turkey, Prime Minister Erdogan and others in his government, that they fully intend to meet their obligations under the plan.

And so the international community knows that for this plan to be successful, obligations must be met. And we've all joined together to make sure that all sides understand that we expect these obligations to be met, and the international community will insist in helping the parties meet their obligations.

MR. ELLIS: Will the U.S. consider recognizing the occupied northern part of Cyprus if the Greek Cypriots reject the plan?

SECRETARY POWELL: This is not an issue that is before us. Let's talk about acceptance of the plan, not rejection of the plan. We don't even want to talk about questions or issues like that right now. We don't want to find ourselves in that kind of position.

That's why it's so important that people realize -- realize -- how vital it is for them to examine this plan carefully, consider the alternatives.

And I hope that the Greek and Turkish Cypriots, in their homes over the weekend and in their discussion with their family members and with their friends in their communities, will come to the conclusion that the United Nations, working with Turkey and Greece, working with the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots, have come up with something which may not be perfect from our perspective, but it is awfully good and we should not miss this opportunity.

MR. ELLIS: Will there be consequences for Greek-Turkish relations, or maybe U.S.-Cypriot relations, if the Greek Cypriots reject the plan?

SECRETARY POWELL: We are not looking at consequences right now. It's the same answer. This is the time to think positively and not start thinking about what happens if the referenda are rejected. This is the time to do everything we can to make sure that the referenda -- they are understood and that people will vote yes.

We really want to see the island come into the European Union as a single entity. That is in the interest of both parties and that's what we should be focusing on, not the negative consequences of a "no" vote. Let's think positively about a "yes" vote.

MR. ELLIS: Mr. Secretary, thank you for joining us.

2004/413