Ozersay: Chances of success are higher now than in the past

Turkish Cypriot negotiator Kudret Ozersay has said that the joint declaration is a mutually agreed text which they see as a framework for a negotiating process which continues from the point it had been left.

In statements to Bayrak yesterday, Ozersay said that in the joint declaration they have also agreed on discussing confidence building measures and not only holding negotiations for a comprehensive solution. 
He said that “this is a negotiating process in which chances of success are higher than in the past”.

Ozersay noted that they want this to be a process in which the sides will be focused on producing a result by carrying out a give and take and added that they do not find it right to hold debates on the text of the joint declaration. “If we want to reach a solution, leadership must be exhibited. Making manoeuvres in order to satisfy the political parties will harm the process,” he said.

Asked on the contribution of the international players in the process, Ozersay replied that in spite of the fact that “the sensitivities on the arbitration issue have been included in the text of the joint declaration”, the Greek Cypriot side is opposed to mediation.

Asked about the participation of foreign minister Ozdil Nami in the Turkish Cypriot negotiating team, Ozersay said that everyone can make a contribution and added Eroglu “has given the necessary response” on this issue. 


Kyrenia mayor says some people have turned the Cyprus problem into a profession

The mayor in exile of Kyrenia, Glavcos Kariolou, strongly criticised all those who disagree with the start of talks.

“Some people have turned the Cyprus problem into a profession,” he said on a morning radio talk show. He added that at the moment we have a two-page statement in order to kick-start the talks and that he could not see anything wrong with this statement.

People from Kyrenia want a solution which will give them the chance to return to their homes. He said that he, too, would like to return to his home as it was before 1974. But we don’t always get what we want in this world, he added.

Economist: A glimmer of hope

The Economist says that “after years of foot-dragging by Greek-Cypriot leaders, who have been keener to block Turkey’s efforts to join the European Union than to end the island’s 40-year division”, new talks on reunifying Cyprus are to start.

Unlike his predecessors, President Nicos Anastasiades wants a deal with Dervis Eroglu, his Turkish-Cypriot counterpart, it says. According to a “road-map” put forward by the two men when they met on the UN’s “green line” on February 11th, the two communities would unite under a confederation but run their affairs as “constituent states”.

So far, so good. But can tricky issues like property and security, which have sunk previous talks, be resolved this time? It helps that the Americans are involved; they have prodded officials in Ankara and Nicosia to back the new proposal. The talks will be held as usual under UN sponsorship. For the first time the two leaders insist that they want to see results and aim to reach a deal “as soon as possible”.

Recent discoveries of gas in the eastern Mediterranean could be a catalyst for building an energy partnership that would include Turkey, say the Americans. The simplest way of getting the gas to energy-hungry Europe would be through a pipeline to Turkey. (A Greek-Cypriot plan to build a gas terminal on Cyprus and an undersea pipeline to Crete, Greece and Italy, is seen as expensive and impracticable.) Three-way co-operation could also reduce instability in a fractious region.

The road-map is already known in Nicosia as the “Obama plan”, according to the Economist, comparing it to the Annan plan, which was backed only by Anastasiades, as leader of the conservative Democratic Rally party in 2004. This time he has Akel, Cyprus’s communists, on his side. Together, the two parties could win a referendum on the Obama plan.

Cyprus is still reeling from last year’s bank collapse in which many depositors lost big chunks of their savings. Capital controls remain in place under the terms of a €10 billion bail-out by the EU and IMF, putting a squeeze on business. GDP shrank by 6% in 2013 and unemployment is at a record 17%. Reunification should speed recovery and promote faster growth. Yet the mood remains cautious: after all, this is the fifth or sixth round of talks. One Nicosia businessman recalls the words of a British diplomat, David Hannay: “Nobody ever lost money betting against a Cyprus solution.”

This time there are more carrots than sticks

An article in Zaman says “New rounds of Cyprus talks, deliver a slightly stronger ray of hope. As Hugh Pope, the Turkey/Cyprus Project Director for International Crisis Group, puts it, “There are a few new elements: a surprising American role, an open-minded Greek Cypriot leader, possible direct Turkey-Greek Cypriot contacts -- but no miracle leap yet expected in the Sisyphean search for a bi-zonal, bi-communal federal settlement.” He also quotes analyst Fiona Mullen as saying that this time there are more carrots than sticks -- oil and gas for both (and for Israel). A deal could be “Varosha for gas” or Cyprus unblocking chapters, easing Turkey's path towards EU membership. (Furthermore, the political and social mood in Greek Cyprus is less negative than previously, with more awareness of possible solutions.)

The most unpredictable player in the triangle seems to be Erdogan. Much depends on whether he will go on being a part of the problem, or become part of the solution.”