President Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat today agreed to the opening of the Limnitis crossing point. In statements after the meeting, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Cyprus Mr Tayé-Brook Zerihoun announced said the crossing point would open “under normal rules of existing crossings” and underscored “the role of UNFICYP”. In reference to Kokkina, Mr Zerihoun said that there would be “transfer of reasonable quantities of food and water and other supplies on non-military nature, with UNCFICYP escort”.
The President of the European Commission, Mr José Manuel Barroso, who is currently in Cyprus, has urged the two communities to redouble their efforts for a solution to the Cyprus problem.“The European Commission and I personally support very much the efforts of the leaders in every way we can. We cannot make the deal. That’s the point people have to understand. We can help find a solution, we can support find a solution, but it is up to Cypriots themselves to find this solution,” Barroso said yesterday after meeting President Christofias.
“There is a historic chance now to end this conflict once and for all. So please keep up your efforts Mr. President. The time is now. Do not allow a situation where the younger generation will simply accept the status quo.”
The European Commission President said reunification would allow all Cypriots to reap the benefits of Cyprus’ membership in the EU. “That is the message that I am bringing here today, one of confidence in the future of this country.”
The EU President also went north where he saw Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat.In comments to the press later, Talat described Barroso’s meeting to the island as “an important event,” adding he had the opportunity to convey the Turkish Cypriot views on the present state of the Cyprus problem. “I can say that it was a very useful meeting,” Talat noted.
Friday 26 June 2009
Wednesday 17 June 2009
Cyprus talks drowned out by shouting
A Global Reuters News Blog report says Western diplomats and analysts on the divided Mediterranean island of Cyprus are starting to wonder if the euphoria that surrounded the launch of the talks in September 2008 was justified.
“They went back to the drawing board, that’s the main problem,” said Mete Hatay, a researcher for the PRIO peace institute in Nicosia.
High hopes were pinned on the two men, who come from leftist parties and enjoyed a strong relationship as opposition leaders, to make more progress than their predecessors - Glafcos Clerides and Rauf Denktash, British-trained lawyers whose careers were identified with the Cyprus problem.
“Both of them have trouble grappling with the language and terms. They are not lawyers like Clerides and Denktash,” said a senior Western diplomat. “Christofias wants to lead by consensus but you can’t operate like that as president and Talat is in a tight corner.”
Christofias moves too slowly and Talat, anxious not to give up too much, stepped back from agreed positions, hoping to meet somewhere in the middle but frustrating his opponent, he said.
“The U.N. will not fill the gaps this time. The two leaders must finish the job and put the plan to a referendum,” the diplomat added.
Turkish Cypriots, tired of seeing little of the EU benefits enjoyed by Greek Cypriots and angered by European Court decisions on key property cases, voted in April parliamentary elections for a hardliner, Dervis Eroglu.
Talat, whose term ends in April 2010, may not be around to clinch a deal after that. With the April deadline looming, the pressure is rising for the two leaders.
“I’m not sure they can do it by April,” said Hatay. “It’s not hopeless but when Turkish Cypriots feel cornered, they can do unpredictable things.”
A case in point was the failure to open the Limnitis crossing on the eastern part of the green line dividing the island, at a time when any good news from the process was key to sustaining momentum. Turkish Cypriot demands that petrol trucks, not just people, should be allowed to cross, have delayed agreement.
The European Union must be more directly involved and the talks must be intensified to have a chance of making it, diplomats said.
Some say there are some positive signs on the horizon - 70 percent of Greek Cypriots, who overwhelmingly rejected the last U.N. reunification plan in a 2004 referendum, voted for parties backing a solution in the June 7 European Parliament election.
And the screaming that people close to the talks say often comes out of the negotiating room may not be all that bad either.
“Shouting and screaming is part of their intimacy,” said a Turkish Cypriot journalist. “The fact that they come out of the room smiling is proof of their strong relationship.”
“They went back to the drawing board, that’s the main problem,” said Mete Hatay, a researcher for the PRIO peace institute in Nicosia.
High hopes were pinned on the two men, who come from leftist parties and enjoyed a strong relationship as opposition leaders, to make more progress than their predecessors - Glafcos Clerides and Rauf Denktash, British-trained lawyers whose careers were identified with the Cyprus problem.
“Both of them have trouble grappling with the language and terms. They are not lawyers like Clerides and Denktash,” said a senior Western diplomat. “Christofias wants to lead by consensus but you can’t operate like that as president and Talat is in a tight corner.”
Christofias moves too slowly and Talat, anxious not to give up too much, stepped back from agreed positions, hoping to meet somewhere in the middle but frustrating his opponent, he said.
“The U.N. will not fill the gaps this time. The two leaders must finish the job and put the plan to a referendum,” the diplomat added.
Turkish Cypriots, tired of seeing little of the EU benefits enjoyed by Greek Cypriots and angered by European Court decisions on key property cases, voted in April parliamentary elections for a hardliner, Dervis Eroglu.
Talat, whose term ends in April 2010, may not be around to clinch a deal after that. With the April deadline looming, the pressure is rising for the two leaders.
“I’m not sure they can do it by April,” said Hatay. “It’s not hopeless but when Turkish Cypriots feel cornered, they can do unpredictable things.”
A case in point was the failure to open the Limnitis crossing on the eastern part of the green line dividing the island, at a time when any good news from the process was key to sustaining momentum. Turkish Cypriot demands that petrol trucks, not just people, should be allowed to cross, have delayed agreement.
The European Union must be more directly involved and the talks must be intensified to have a chance of making it, diplomats said.
Some say there are some positive signs on the horizon - 70 percent of Greek Cypriots, who overwhelmingly rejected the last U.N. reunification plan in a 2004 referendum, voted for parties backing a solution in the June 7 European Parliament election.
And the screaming that people close to the talks say often comes out of the negotiating room may not be all that bad either.
“Shouting and screaming is part of their intimacy,” said a Turkish Cypriot journalist. “The fact that they come out of the room smiling is proof of their strong relationship.”
Tuesday 16 June 2009
Patience on Limnitis and Verheugen is back
According to press reports, the leaders of the two communities spent most of their meeting yesterday discusssing the opening of a crossing point at Limnitis in the north-west of the island.
Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat said afterwards that there were still a number of points on which the two sides disagree and that their two advisors would work on the issue. He added that in any case it would not open under the same terms as the other crossing points because the Kokkina area complicates things.
Talat added that unfortunately the Limnitis issue overshadowed the Cyprus problem to the detriment of the question of territory took which would be continued at the next meeting scheduled for Friday 26 June.
On his part, asked whether progress had been made on Limnitis, President Christofias told newsmen: “Be patient.”
Meanwhile, EU Commission Vice-President responsible for Enterprise and Industry Gunter Verheugen, who is currently on an official visit to Cyprus told a press conference yesterday that the EU Commission is prepared to accommodate a solution to the Cyprus problem as long as it’s based on the principles on which the EU was foundedyesterday.
The EU Commissioner, who is in Cyprus at the invitation of President Christofias, after a long spell away from the island, expressed his strong support of the approach for a “Cypriot ownership” of the latest efforts to solve the conflict, highlighting the “need for a solution” and the benefits it would bring to both communities. He also said the EU “fully trusts that Christofias will do everything he can to find a solution”.
“People talk of a frozen conflict. No, there is a problem, it needs to be addressed,” he said.
Verheugen has a long history with Cyprus, having played a crucial part in removing the link between Cyprus’ EU accession path and a Cyprus settlement in 1999 in Helsinki. As Enlargement Commissioner, he helped pave the way for Cyprus to join in 2004. However, relations turned sour when former president Tassos Papadopoulos called for a “resounding NO” in the Annan plan referendum, leading Verheugen to claim he’d been “cheated” by the Papadopoulos administration.
“I have a special interest personally to see on the ground how a country whose accession I was able to support, how it developed after accession. The impression today is a very, very positive one. It’s obvious the country has taken advantage of its EU membership,” he said yesterday at a press conference. On the failure of the UN-sponsored talks in 2004, he said the two sides came “closer than ever before, it was bad luck, it can happen”.
Asked whether he still felt “cheated” by Cyprus following 2004, he referred to the fact that former president Papadopoulos was no longer alive, adding this was “now a matter of the past” which “belongs to history”.
Mr Verheugen also had a meeting with Mr Talat after which he said that Turkish Cypriots unequivocally have the right to enjoy the privileges of EU membership. He expressed his happiness over the progress in talks between the leaders of the two communities noting that both leaders exerted utmost efforts for a solution in the island acceptable to both sides. He stressed that the EU was ready to support the talks but not as a judge or referee and that the EU wanted to provide support and advice should both parties ask for it.
Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat said afterwards that there were still a number of points on which the two sides disagree and that their two advisors would work on the issue. He added that in any case it would not open under the same terms as the other crossing points because the Kokkina area complicates things.
Talat added that unfortunately the Limnitis issue overshadowed the Cyprus problem to the detriment of the question of territory took which would be continued at the next meeting scheduled for Friday 26 June.
On his part, asked whether progress had been made on Limnitis, President Christofias told newsmen: “Be patient.”
Meanwhile, EU Commission Vice-President responsible for Enterprise and Industry Gunter Verheugen, who is currently on an official visit to Cyprus told a press conference yesterday that the EU Commission is prepared to accommodate a solution to the Cyprus problem as long as it’s based on the principles on which the EU was foundedyesterday.
The EU Commissioner, who is in Cyprus at the invitation of President Christofias, after a long spell away from the island, expressed his strong support of the approach for a “Cypriot ownership” of the latest efforts to solve the conflict, highlighting the “need for a solution” and the benefits it would bring to both communities. He also said the EU “fully trusts that Christofias will do everything he can to find a solution”.
“People talk of a frozen conflict. No, there is a problem, it needs to be addressed,” he said.
Verheugen has a long history with Cyprus, having played a crucial part in removing the link between Cyprus’ EU accession path and a Cyprus settlement in 1999 in Helsinki. As Enlargement Commissioner, he helped pave the way for Cyprus to join in 2004. However, relations turned sour when former president Tassos Papadopoulos called for a “resounding NO” in the Annan plan referendum, leading Verheugen to claim he’d been “cheated” by the Papadopoulos administration.
“I have a special interest personally to see on the ground how a country whose accession I was able to support, how it developed after accession. The impression today is a very, very positive one. It’s obvious the country has taken advantage of its EU membership,” he said yesterday at a press conference. On the failure of the UN-sponsored talks in 2004, he said the two sides came “closer than ever before, it was bad luck, it can happen”.
Asked whether he still felt “cheated” by Cyprus following 2004, he referred to the fact that former president Papadopoulos was no longer alive, adding this was “now a matter of the past” which “belongs to history”.
Mr Verheugen also had a meeting with Mr Talat after which he said that Turkish Cypriots unequivocally have the right to enjoy the privileges of EU membership. He expressed his happiness over the progress in talks between the leaders of the two communities noting that both leaders exerted utmost efforts for a solution in the island acceptable to both sides. He stressed that the EU was ready to support the talks but not as a judge or referee and that the EU wanted to provide support and advice should both parties ask for it.
Friday 12 June 2009
Limnitis agreement 'close'
President Christofias said yesterday after another meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat, that he expects “good news soon” on the opening of a crossing point in Limnitis.
“We had a good meeting today, we moved forward concerning Limnitis. We are not far from an agreement", he said.
He added thatChristofias said the economy would be set aside for now as talks would continue on territory at their next meeting on Monday.
The UN’s Special Representative in Cyprus, Taye Brook Zerihoun, yesterday confirmed that the two leaders were close to an agreement on Limnitis. Describing the meeting as “good and productive”, Zerihoun said that during the open meeting where the UN was present, the introductory statements on the chapter on territory were read out by both sides.
The UN’s Special Envoy to Cyprus Alexander Downer will be in Moscow on Monday for talks with Russian officials on the Cyprus problem but will return to the island on Tuesday.
“We had a good meeting today, we moved forward concerning Limnitis. We are not far from an agreement", he said.
He added thatChristofias said the economy would be set aside for now as talks would continue on territory at their next meeting on Monday.
The UN’s Special Representative in Cyprus, Taye Brook Zerihoun, yesterday confirmed that the two leaders were close to an agreement on Limnitis. Describing the meeting as “good and productive”, Zerihoun said that during the open meeting where the UN was present, the introductory statements on the chapter on territory were read out by both sides.
The UN’s Special Envoy to Cyprus Alexander Downer will be in Moscow on Monday for talks with Russian officials on the Cyprus problem but will return to the island on Tuesday.
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