October deadline for Cyprus talks

The leaders of the two communities in Cyprus, Demetris Christofias and Dervis Eroglu, agreed at their third meeting with the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, in Geneva on Thursday 7 July to enter into an intensive period of negotiations on the core issues of the Cyprus problem with the aim of reaching convergence on all core issues by October.

Speaking afterwards the Secretary-General said that he has every expectation that by then the leaders will be able to report that they have reached convergence on all core issues, and they will meet with him again that month in New York.

“This will take the Cyprus negotiations close to their conclusion and would allow me to give a positive report to the Security Council on the matter. It would also pave the way for me to work with the parties towards convening a final, international conference,” he added.

The UN chief noted that “progress has been far too slow” since he last met with the two leaders last January in Geneva, an opinion shared by his special adviser Alexander Downer, who was quoted on the eve of the meeting saying the last three months of talks were the “worst” since they began in September 2008.

Ban highlighted that “some important areas have remained untouched” in the negotiations. On this point, yesterday’s four-hour meeting proved “useful and productive” and that some of the difficulties standing in the way of reaching a comprehensive agreement had been identified. Both leaders made it clear that they are aiming to reach a comprehensive solution as soon as possible.

He also said that while he agrees that the negotiations must be Cypriot-led and Cypriot-owned, he is prepared to offer an enhanced United Nations involvement without prejudice to this central principle. Both leaders have accepted his offer.
In conclusion Ban noted that both sides had agreed “they must begin to build support for a comprehensive agreement”. The fact that neither has started to do so has led the public on both sides to become “weary”, he added.

“Both leaders must renew hope and enthusiasm for a solution. They have acknowledged the need to begin to prepare their respective communities for the compromises required for a settlement and the prospect of living together in a united Cyprus,” he ended.

The Cyprus Mail says that in effect, the UN team has laid out a timetable for the talks to reach their conclusion, with the obvious milestone being Cyprus’ EU Presidency starting in July 2012, by which point, the talks will either be dead and buried or have led to separate referenda in the two communities.

The agreement to an informal timetable, “enhanced” UN role and calling of a final international conference will likely cause many a headache for Christofias who has consistently based his negotiations policy on a refusal to accept “suffocating timeframes” or “arbitration”, the paper says, while Eroglu and the powerful Turkish diplomatic machinery have run a steady campaign for the UN to impose a final deadline in the talks.

All the citizens of Cyprus and the European Union as a whole will benefit from a united Cyprus, the President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, said before the Geneva meeting between the two leaders in Cyprus and the UN Secretary-General.

He added that they can count on the strong support of the European Commission and called on both leaders to intensify the negotiations and to rapidly take the next steps towards a settlement.

“A mutually agreed settlement will be the basis for the long expected reunification of the country and end one of the oldest conflicts on European soil”, he said. "More than seven years after Cyprus' accession to the European Union a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem is overdue”.

In order to achieve this goal, he said, a breakthrough in the talks is necessary and expressed confidence in the political will of the leaders of the two communities in making all the necessary efforts to progress towards a satisfactory final solution.