"We see the voting results by Turk Cypriots as the vote of confidence in the new leadership of the community in tackling problems facing the Turk Cypriot part of the population of Cyprus, above all in finding ways for unification of the island, as voiced by Mahmet Ali Talat", official spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry Alexander Yakovenko has said. He was commenting on the results of elections held in the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
At these elections, the sweeping majority of votes were cast for general chairman of the Republican Turkish Party Mahmet Ali Talat, who replaces elderly Rauf Denktash as its president.
Alexander Yakovenko said that Moscow welcomes the desire and hopes for practical actions of Mahmet Ali Talat as the leader of the Turk Cypriot community to promote the negotiating process in the interest of attaining a comprehensive, viable and fair Cypriot settlement under the aegis of the United Nations on the basis of the corresponding resolutions of its Security Council and voluntary mutual agreement between the two Cypriot communities.
"Russia will continue to promote in every way the attainment of the said goal in interaction with Cypriots proper and all the involved states", stressed the official spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry.
