Never let it be said that Luigi Peters has anything other than God's Own as his prime concern. There he was indulging in an attempt at detente with George Double Ya's mate Bill McCormick.

It was over lunch for the Turkish Prime Minister and Luigi was originally sat at the other end of the table from the American ambassador. With a glass of last year's Neudorf's sauvignon blanc in one hand, he extended the other to the portly diplomat and slid in beside him.

The American fast food restaurateur seemed jolly enough as they chatted away but left the table before the formal part of the luncheon began. Now that could mean one of two things - either that the American, given his background, can not sustain anything beyond a five minute meal or that Luigi was told to leave the Ockers to do our bidding.

The Turk's obviously been taking Jim Anderton monologue elocution lessons. Even his interpreter looked disinterested as he rabbited on about how lovely it was to be down under.

Spare a thought for Head Girl Helen who last night had him up to Premier House for another nosh up. It is virtually impossible to make small talk through an interpreter and even harder when the tongue is loosened with nothing but a glass of diet coke.

As they were tucking into the dusted grilled lamb cutlet with a red pepper and eggplant confit, outside Greek Cypriots were telling the Turks to get out of their country. Turkish troops have been occupying Cyprus for more than 30 years and the more than 40,000 troops do not appear to be in any hurry to leave.

When they invaded, Luigi's mate Prince Philip Burdon's mushroom farm on Cyprus was bombed and he escaped posing as a journalist. The farm now lies in no man's land and the prince has a compo claim with the United Nations.

He is not expecting it to be settled anytime soon just as detente with the Americans is not going to be achieved over lunch, regardless of how much talking is done!

Barry Soper

Political Editor, Newstalk ZB