Christofias-Talat set the basis of Cyprus solution

The leaders of the two communities in Cyprus, Dimitris Christofias and Mehmet Ali Talat, yesterday reaffirmed their commitment to "a bizonal bicommunal federation with political equality, as defined by relevant UN Security Council resolutions".

“This partnership will have a federal government with a single international personality, as well as a Turkish Cypriot constituent state and a Greek Cypriot constituent state which will be of equal status,'' they said in a joint statement.

However, they differed as to when direct talks on the Cyprus problem should start but decided they would come together again in the second half of June to make a new assessment.

The two men met for three hours at the residence of UN Permanent Representative Taye-Brook Zerihoun. By all accounts the meeting went well and the leaders appeared relaxed and comfortable in each other’s company. Zerihoun said it had been a fruitful and genuine discussion.

Asked by the press afterwards when the talks would start, Talat said: “This is a difficult question, actually. You know that we have different views on this issue, we continue to have our views on this matter, so we are going to make an assessment when we come together in the second half of June.”

When the leaders met on March 21, they had agreed to meet again three months from that date. The Turkish Cypriot side interpreted it as the start of negotiations on June 21, but Christofias has remained non-committal on a starting date, saying progress had been slow in the committees and groups.

“Today we decided that we are going to handle these problems and to push the representatives to work more intensively towards convergence and common positions,” Christofias told reporters after the meeting.

Zerihoun said the two leaders had instructed their representatives to examine the results of the technical committees within 15 days. They also decided to consider civilian and military confidence building measures and would pursue the opening of the Limnitis-Yesilirmak crossing and other crossing points.

Questioned by reporters on whether the international identity of Cyprus would evolve from the Republic of Cyprus or from the idea of the birth of a new state, or virgin birth, as it is called, Christofias said: “I think that we have a common position, that it will be a United, Federal Republic of Cyprus.”

Moreover, the Cyprus Mail reports that Talat’s representative Ozdil Nami told the paper later that he believed the discussions had taken place in an “extremely positive atmosphere” and that all sides were “very pleased” by the outcome of the meeting. “For the first time in history, the two sides are speaking the same language, and it is this that pleases us the most,” he said.

Asked whether the T/C side was concerned about the absence of a definite starting date for direct talks, he said he believed it would be possible to find “a convergence of views” by the second half of June - despite the fact that “the two sides might have different criteria for measuring whether or not progress had been made”. “From our point of view, it is convergence that is needed,” he added.

As for whether a new partnership state would embody a continuation of the Cyprus Republic or the creation of a new political entity, as envisaged by the now-defunct Annan plan, Nami said, “Answers to questions like these will only come out of fully-fledged negotiations between the two leaders.”

The Cyprus Mail's editorial analysing the outcome of the meeting says it was a workmanlike discussion that acknowledged differences and pledged to address them, while keeping the process on track by underlining the commitment towards a common goal. It was a meeting that did not try to paper over the cracks and hide the very real differences that have arisen. As such, it raised no expectations, but crucially it saw the leaders speaking a common language again, after a couple of weeks of edgy, increasingly acrimonious spin on the progress of the working groups and technical committees. For a while, we can hope that yesterday’s meeting will have headed off the blame game, at least until the two leaders meet again in June. It will have dampened expectations, while reassuring us of the continued commitment of both sides to work through difficulties. At this stage, we couldn’t ask for more.

Politis says agreement on this basis for a solution was reached with difficulty because Talat at first did not want specific reference to a bizonal bicommunal federation but the wording is vague as to how the common state is to be set up, ie if it will evolve from the Republic of Cyprus as the G/C side wants, or as the unification of two separate states, by a 'virgin birth' as the T/C side wants. They also left the actual date for the start of direct talks open and it is now almost certain that there will be a slight delay although it is thought they will definitely start sometime in the summer. The paper says the G/C side doesn't mind that the way the new state will be set up was left to be decided at the end, because they believe that the Turkish side will not find support for a 'virgin birth' in the international community, and that it would not be possible for this to happen within the EU.

Alithia says that the two leaders spent a large part of their time yesterday interpreting whether their agreement of 21 March stipulates when direct talks would start and in the end agreed to differ. They paper says the joint statements satisfies both sides. They also decided to stop all statements about 'virgin birth'.

Simerini says that the joint statement caused confusion amongst the G/C political parties and gave rise to contradictory assessments. Former President Tasos Papadopoulos called it a negative development and a step backwards for the G/C side. Akel's spokesman was pleased with the meeting. Disy said it was a step in the right direction. Diko expressed concern at certain terms used, while the party's parliamentary spokesman says it is a complete retreat that smacks of the worst form of the Annan plan. Edek leader Yiannakis Omirou points out that no reference is made to a single sovereignty or citizenship. Evroko's acting president, Nicos Koutsou, told the paper that basically what has happened is that Christofias has accepted covert confederation of two states.