Talks on the Cyprus problem resumed yesterday with a message from UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon welcoming both delegations back to the negotiating table read out by his representative in Cyprus, Alexander Downer.
“The parties made strong progress before the talks were suspended in late March. I am very encouraged by the convergences that were reached”, he said.
“The peace process is at an important point. A settlement is within your grasp and this opportunity must be seized, as time is not on your side. Achieving an agreement will require vision, statesmanship and courage. Your communities want and expect a settlement. This will require give-and-take on both sides, and the ability to understand the issues and what is at stake from the perspective of the other side. You must convince not only your own community of the value of a settlement; you must also convince the other community of your good faith. This is not a zero-sum game. It is possible, and indeed necessary, to arrive at a solution that clearly benefits both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots”. The UN S-G also said he was encouraged that the two leaders have agreed to continue on the basis of the UN parameters, Security Council resolutions and the joint statements made on 23 May and 1 July 2008 and added that the international community is committed to continuing its support for this Cypriot-led process.
He expressed the belief that an agreement can be reached in the coming months, adding that together with his representative, Mr. Downer, he remains ready and willing to help.
It was their first tete-a-tete between the leaders of the two communities, Demitris Christofias and Dervis Eroglu, although they had a ‘breaking the ice’ dinner in the buffer zone on Tuesday night, during which it transpired that both their wives had missing brothers.
UN special adviser Alexander Downer said the meeting was held in a warm and positive environment. With the help of translators, the two men made introductory remarks to each other and then kicked-off discussion of the thorny property chapter. He said they confirmed existing convergences but no other chapter was discussed beyond property.
The two leaders will meet again next Thursday morning. Their representatives, George Iacovou and Kudret Ozersay will meet on Monday afternoon to prepare the ground. Moreover, it was also announced that the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Nicos Emiliou will be added to the Greek Cypriot side’s negotiating team.
Politis says that the UN believe that the forthcoming solution must make provisions for the resettlement of Turkish Cypriots living in Greek Cypriot properties in Morphou and have started examining various options.
They consider the return of the town to G/C administration a given and are continuously stressing to the T/C side that their refusal to do so will be tantamount to leading the talks to failure. One possibility being examined is for new housing to be built for the T/C on government land in Morphou.
The question arises, says the paper, because of Eroglu’s public pre-electoral statements refusing to return an inch of the town and in view of the fact that the two sides will start to discuss the property issue in earnest on Monday.
It says that clearly the property issue and that of territory are interconnected and the area where the G/C side will want to show gains. The paper quotes diplomatic sources as saying that clearly the T/Cs have received gains in the issue of governance and political equality. For the negotiations to proceed these must be balanced with territorial and property concessions, matters that greatly concern the G/Cs.
The argument goes that the more territory ultimately falls under G/C administration, the easier the property issue will be resolved. In this respect the possibility of the Karpass area being declared a ‘federal park’, an area where development will be allowed from both communities, is gaining ground.
Thursday 27 May 2010
Thursday 20 May 2010
National Council completes marathon meeting without a joint statement
The National Council yesterday completed six days of meetings on the Cyprus problem but members were unable to reach a consensus to issue a joint statement afterwards not even on the principles of a future solution.
Government Spokesman Stefanos Stefanou expressed his regret that this had not proved possible, but said that a detailed discussion and in-depth dialogue had taken place and the political parties expressed their positions and views on all issues of the Cyprus problem.
"One of the issues discussed at the National Council was the direct trade regulation. We have reaffirmed the decision of the Republic of Cyprus to defend itself with all political and legal means available, with the aim to block the regulation on direct trade, in the framework of the efforts made by the Presidency of the Republic. The Presidency of the Republic, in cooperation with the political parties, will promote our proposal for the return of the city of Famagusta to the United Nations and the commencement of trade in the framework of legality and under the auspices of the European Union”.
He said, however, that the talks would be resumed on the same basis as agreed between the leaders of the two communities and from the point they had left off .
"This is how we will continue, always, with the aim to achieve a solution to the Cyprus problem”, he said.
The Cyprus Mail reports that Cypriot and international policymakers will be meeting today and tomorrow in Brussels to discuss the issue of property in the peace talks. The conference is being organised by PRIO (Peace Research institute Oslo) Cyprus Centre and the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS). The one-and-a-half-day event will be a closed meeting of Greek Cypriot, Turkish Cypriot and international experts, academics, practitioners, civil society representatives and senior policy-makers.
According to a PRIO announcement, the conference will provide a venue for an in-depth exploration of the property dispute in Cyprus. “This will include an analysis of the current situation but, more importantly, a discussion on practical ways of addressing property claims while taking into account both individual rights and communal concerns,” said the statement.
Apart from looking at the technicalities of how the property issue may be resolved, the conference will consider what an eventual resolution of the issue might imply for the inhabitants of Cyprus.
In an interview with Turkish Anatolia news agency at UN headquarters in New York, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that although no timetable had been set, this did not mean that the Cyprus negotiations could continue forever.
Ban said his Special Adviser on Cyprus Alexander Downer would be making efforts to facilitate the process, which resumes on May 26.
Ban also noted recent statements by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that he strongly supported the Cyprus talks added momentum to the negotiations.
“I have extended strong support to negotiations and I continue to do so. More than 70 meetings have taken place between the two leaders in the past 18 months. This is an extremely positive development,” he said.
Government Spokesman Stefanos Stefanou expressed his regret that this had not proved possible, but said that a detailed discussion and in-depth dialogue had taken place and the political parties expressed their positions and views on all issues of the Cyprus problem.
"One of the issues discussed at the National Council was the direct trade regulation. We have reaffirmed the decision of the Republic of Cyprus to defend itself with all political and legal means available, with the aim to block the regulation on direct trade, in the framework of the efforts made by the Presidency of the Republic. The Presidency of the Republic, in cooperation with the political parties, will promote our proposal for the return of the city of Famagusta to the United Nations and the commencement of trade in the framework of legality and under the auspices of the European Union”.
He said, however, that the talks would be resumed on the same basis as agreed between the leaders of the two communities and from the point they had left off .
"This is how we will continue, always, with the aim to achieve a solution to the Cyprus problem”, he said.
The Cyprus Mail reports that Cypriot and international policymakers will be meeting today and tomorrow in Brussels to discuss the issue of property in the peace talks. The conference is being organised by PRIO (Peace Research institute Oslo) Cyprus Centre and the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS). The one-and-a-half-day event will be a closed meeting of Greek Cypriot, Turkish Cypriot and international experts, academics, practitioners, civil society representatives and senior policy-makers.
According to a PRIO announcement, the conference will provide a venue for an in-depth exploration of the property dispute in Cyprus. “This will include an analysis of the current situation but, more importantly, a discussion on practical ways of addressing property claims while taking into account both individual rights and communal concerns,” said the statement.
Apart from looking at the technicalities of how the property issue may be resolved, the conference will consider what an eventual resolution of the issue might imply for the inhabitants of Cyprus.
In an interview with Turkish Anatolia news agency at UN headquarters in New York, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that although no timetable had been set, this did not mean that the Cyprus negotiations could continue forever.
Ban said his Special Adviser on Cyprus Alexander Downer would be making efforts to facilitate the process, which resumes on May 26.
Ban also noted recent statements by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that he strongly supported the Cyprus talks added momentum to the negotiations.
“I have extended strong support to negotiations and I continue to do so. More than 70 meetings have taken place between the two leaders in the past 18 months. This is an extremely positive development,” he said.
Sunday 16 May 2010
Erdogan calls for international conference on Cyprus
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday joined his Greek counterpart George Papandreou in an Athens press briefing to propose an international meeting with Cyprus’ guarantor powers – Greece, Turkey and the UK – as well a representatives from the UN and EU, to contribute to efforts to resolve the Cyprus problem.
“We must achieve the result as soon as we can., if we put together our efforts we can have results by the end of the year”, he said.
Papandreou on his part said that it was time Greece and Turkey attempted to put the past behind them in order to help find a settlement in Cyprus and expressed the belief that Turkey had the ability to contribute with determination to doing so.
“With the correct solution to the problem of Cyprus, we will make even bigger steps to bring our countries closer,” he said.
He ruled out any guarantees from Turkey and Greece, however, saying he had faith in President Demetris Christofias and would continue to support the Greek Cypriot side in its efforts to restore peace on the island.
To a question on occupying part of an EU member state Erdogan referred back to the 2004 Greek Cypriot rejection of the Annan plan that foresaw a huge reduction in Turkish troops on Cyprus.
“All preparatory work was carried out, and in April 2004 we arrived where we arrived [in Burgenstock] At that point it was Karamanlis and Papadopoulos who suggested a delay to the referendum. Mr Annan was there as well. Annan asked me what I thought. I turned and said we would carry the process forward and do the referendum,” said Erdogan.
He said negotiations between Christofias and newly-elected Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu should now pick up from where they ended with former leader Mehmet Ali Talat.
Erdogan called on his Greek counterpart to support these efforts. “We are guaranteeing powers. We have a duty to succeed in these efforts and reach a conclusion”, he said, adding: “By the end of the year, I think we will achieve our goal, but efforts need to continue.”
Responding to Erdogan’s call, President Christofias said: “Once the conditions are ripe it would be useful to have an international conference with the participation of the UN Security Council members to deal with the international aspects of the Cyprus problem, the issues of guarantees and security,” but for the time being it is the Cypriots who have ownership of a Cyprus settlement.
The Sunday Mail says that with ten days to go before the leaders of the two communities sit at the negotiating table for the first time since the Turkish Cypriot election, one question hanging over the international community is what happens if nothing happens.
According to various sources, the end of the year has become an unofficial deadline for the talks on Cyprus to go somewhere serious. UN Special Adviser Alexander Downer has made it clear they cannot go on forever while sources suggest the Australian diplomat will not renew his six-month contract if there is no movement by December.
The concern among some analysts is that President Demetris Christofias and Eroglu will fail to find a middle ground and instead pirouette around a solution just enough to avoid being blamed for obstructing one.
Recent statements suggest Eroglu dances to Ankara’s tune. His almost clear commitment to continue the talks where they left off and his expressed desire to see a solution by the end of the year add weight to this impression.
On top of that, the appointment of his negotiating team head proves that Turkey will not allow Eroglu to come across as “the intransigent one” in the talks. Whereas some feared he would choose members of the old guard, from Rauf Denktash’s former team, he went for an academic with plenty of recent experience in the peace talks.
“Eroglu opted for Kudret Ozersay. He opted for technocracy over politics because it’s demonstrative that the Turkish side does indeed intend not to grandstand but to continue where negotiations left off from,” Erol Kaymak, an international relations expert told the paper. He added that Turkish diplomacy has changed and is sincere to the extent that they are willing to change the status quo in Cyprus.
However, a diplomatic source said Eroglu will likely play a charming and flexible role in the talks, leaving the onus on Christofias to show that he can deliver the goods and bring on board the other parties. If he cannot persuade the international community that a solution is in reach, then international sympathy will once again move towards Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots.
Makarios Drousiotis writing in Politis says that behind the scenes activity is currently underway which will ensure that the present status quo will end in either a solution or deadlock and that one way or another we will know by the end of the year.
He too says that the international community believes that time is running out and that the UN is planning on changing the procedure at the talks to prevent any one of the leaders from wasting time and to take advantage of the positive attitude shown by Eroglu in his statements so far.
He adds that according to reliable sources, Turkey has assured the international community that the Eroglu election will not change anything at the talks, that the talks will continue from where they left off and that he would not be following any delaying tactics. In return Turkey has received the assurance that some kind of timetable will be followed and that the talks will end by the end of the year.
Elsewhere the paper says that Erdogan invited Eroglu to a meeting in Ankara where he outlined the promises he had made to the international community and vetoed any involvement of the Denktash family in the talks. Mehmet Ali Talat was also invited to Ankara and will be asked to contribute to the talks. Already three of his negotiating team are continuing under Eroglu.
The Sunday Mail’s column Coffeeshop says the Turks’ communications games, which only we in Cyprus can spot, are becoming more sophisticated and ambitious all the time. The latest communications game involved the visit of Prime Minister Erdogan, accompanied by 10 ministers and more than 100 businessmen to Athens, where some 21 co-operation agreements were signed.
No expense is spared by the Erdogan government in its devious scheme to make the world think that it supports a settlement of the Cyprob, while remaining totally intransigent and uncooperative. We were deeply hurt that the government of mother Greece agreed to become an accessory to the Ottoman scheming, helping Erdogan to present himself as a man of peace and conciliation, while his occupying troops remain on our island.
But the mask of the peacemaker fell in Athens when he was asked why his troops were still in Cyprus and he brought up the hated Annan plan, set a suffocating time-frame for a settlement (end of the year), called for a five-party conference on Cyprus in which the Turkish Cypriot leader would be allowed to participate and insisted on keeping guarantees.
The columnist congratulates Greek Cypriot daily Phileleftheros for not being fooled by the latest Turkish publicity stunt. Yesterday’s edition of the paper refused to make Erdogan’s, pseudo-historic, Athens visit its main front-page story, preferring to lead with a report about the trade in Ukrainian eggs.
Comrade presidente could not have been a happy bunny watching the Athens fanfare and hearing Erdogan talk about the five-party conference, which he opposes and setting a deadline for a deal, which he also opposes. The comrade knows that the end of the Turks’ communications game is nigh and does not know what to do. It is a well-known secret that the UN is working to an unofficial time-frame for the conclusion of the talks, which is the same as the one mentioned by Erdogan in Athens.
If there is not sufficient progress by the end of the year, the ghastly Al Downer will fulfil the wishes of the bash-patriotic camp and go home. The only snag is that the UN Secretary-General will not send a replacement, but is likely to order the pulling out of UNFICYP as well. This would be the final instalment of Turkey’s well-plotted communications game.
“We must achieve the result as soon as we can., if we put together our efforts we can have results by the end of the year”, he said.
Papandreou on his part said that it was time Greece and Turkey attempted to put the past behind them in order to help find a settlement in Cyprus and expressed the belief that Turkey had the ability to contribute with determination to doing so.
“With the correct solution to the problem of Cyprus, we will make even bigger steps to bring our countries closer,” he said.
He ruled out any guarantees from Turkey and Greece, however, saying he had faith in President Demetris Christofias and would continue to support the Greek Cypriot side in its efforts to restore peace on the island.
To a question on occupying part of an EU member state Erdogan referred back to the 2004 Greek Cypriot rejection of the Annan plan that foresaw a huge reduction in Turkish troops on Cyprus.
“All preparatory work was carried out, and in April 2004 we arrived where we arrived [in Burgenstock] At that point it was Karamanlis and Papadopoulos who suggested a delay to the referendum. Mr Annan was there as well. Annan asked me what I thought. I turned and said we would carry the process forward and do the referendum,” said Erdogan.
He said negotiations between Christofias and newly-elected Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu should now pick up from where they ended with former leader Mehmet Ali Talat.
Erdogan called on his Greek counterpart to support these efforts. “We are guaranteeing powers. We have a duty to succeed in these efforts and reach a conclusion”, he said, adding: “By the end of the year, I think we will achieve our goal, but efforts need to continue.”
Responding to Erdogan’s call, President Christofias said: “Once the conditions are ripe it would be useful to have an international conference with the participation of the UN Security Council members to deal with the international aspects of the Cyprus problem, the issues of guarantees and security,” but for the time being it is the Cypriots who have ownership of a Cyprus settlement.
The Sunday Mail says that with ten days to go before the leaders of the two communities sit at the negotiating table for the first time since the Turkish Cypriot election, one question hanging over the international community is what happens if nothing happens.
According to various sources, the end of the year has become an unofficial deadline for the talks on Cyprus to go somewhere serious. UN Special Adviser Alexander Downer has made it clear they cannot go on forever while sources suggest the Australian diplomat will not renew his six-month contract if there is no movement by December.
The concern among some analysts is that President Demetris Christofias and Eroglu will fail to find a middle ground and instead pirouette around a solution just enough to avoid being blamed for obstructing one.
Recent statements suggest Eroglu dances to Ankara’s tune. His almost clear commitment to continue the talks where they left off and his expressed desire to see a solution by the end of the year add weight to this impression.
On top of that, the appointment of his negotiating team head proves that Turkey will not allow Eroglu to come across as “the intransigent one” in the talks. Whereas some feared he would choose members of the old guard, from Rauf Denktash’s former team, he went for an academic with plenty of recent experience in the peace talks.
“Eroglu opted for Kudret Ozersay. He opted for technocracy over politics because it’s demonstrative that the Turkish side does indeed intend not to grandstand but to continue where negotiations left off from,” Erol Kaymak, an international relations expert told the paper. He added that Turkish diplomacy has changed and is sincere to the extent that they are willing to change the status quo in Cyprus.
However, a diplomatic source said Eroglu will likely play a charming and flexible role in the talks, leaving the onus on Christofias to show that he can deliver the goods and bring on board the other parties. If he cannot persuade the international community that a solution is in reach, then international sympathy will once again move towards Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots.
Makarios Drousiotis writing in Politis says that behind the scenes activity is currently underway which will ensure that the present status quo will end in either a solution or deadlock and that one way or another we will know by the end of the year.
He too says that the international community believes that time is running out and that the UN is planning on changing the procedure at the talks to prevent any one of the leaders from wasting time and to take advantage of the positive attitude shown by Eroglu in his statements so far.
He adds that according to reliable sources, Turkey has assured the international community that the Eroglu election will not change anything at the talks, that the talks will continue from where they left off and that he would not be following any delaying tactics. In return Turkey has received the assurance that some kind of timetable will be followed and that the talks will end by the end of the year.
Elsewhere the paper says that Erdogan invited Eroglu to a meeting in Ankara where he outlined the promises he had made to the international community and vetoed any involvement of the Denktash family in the talks. Mehmet Ali Talat was also invited to Ankara and will be asked to contribute to the talks. Already three of his negotiating team are continuing under Eroglu.
The Sunday Mail’s column Coffeeshop says the Turks’ communications games, which only we in Cyprus can spot, are becoming more sophisticated and ambitious all the time. The latest communications game involved the visit of Prime Minister Erdogan, accompanied by 10 ministers and more than 100 businessmen to Athens, where some 21 co-operation agreements were signed.
No expense is spared by the Erdogan government in its devious scheme to make the world think that it supports a settlement of the Cyprob, while remaining totally intransigent and uncooperative. We were deeply hurt that the government of mother Greece agreed to become an accessory to the Ottoman scheming, helping Erdogan to present himself as a man of peace and conciliation, while his occupying troops remain on our island.
But the mask of the peacemaker fell in Athens when he was asked why his troops were still in Cyprus and he brought up the hated Annan plan, set a suffocating time-frame for a settlement (end of the year), called for a five-party conference on Cyprus in which the Turkish Cypriot leader would be allowed to participate and insisted on keeping guarantees.
The columnist congratulates Greek Cypriot daily Phileleftheros for not being fooled by the latest Turkish publicity stunt. Yesterday’s edition of the paper refused to make Erdogan’s, pseudo-historic, Athens visit its main front-page story, preferring to lead with a report about the trade in Ukrainian eggs.
Comrade presidente could not have been a happy bunny watching the Athens fanfare and hearing Erdogan talk about the five-party conference, which he opposes and setting a deadline for a deal, which he also opposes. The comrade knows that the end of the Turks’ communications game is nigh and does not know what to do. It is a well-known secret that the UN is working to an unofficial time-frame for the conclusion of the talks, which is the same as the one mentioned by Erdogan in Athens.
If there is not sufficient progress by the end of the year, the ghastly Al Downer will fulfil the wishes of the bash-patriotic camp and go home. The only snag is that the UN Secretary-General will not send a replacement, but is likely to order the pulling out of UNFICYP as well. This would be the final instalment of Turkey’s well-plotted communications game.
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