Former Norwegian FM to be new UN Special Advisor in Cyprus

The papers report that former Norwegian foreign minister Espen Barth Eidenew is tipped to replace Alexander Downer, who resigned earlier this year, as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Advisor in Cyprus.

A member of the Norwegian Labour Party, Eide also served as defence minister. He had previously worked for the UN and was managing director of the World Economic Forum, the Cyprus Mail reports.

Government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said that Nicosia had signalled its consent to the appointment, President Anastasiades having previously consulted the party leaders. The Turkish Cypriot side, reportedly, also gave its consent. Since Downer’s resignation the UNSG’s Special Envoy in Cyprus Lisa Buttenheim had been in charge of the Cyprus negotiations that appear to have stalled, but are expected to resume next month.

According to the Cyprus Mail, the original choice for the post was the American former Under-Secretary-General of the UN Lynn Pascoe, but it appeared that neither side was too keen on the appointment of the brash, no-nonsense diplomat despite his good knowledge of the Cyprus problem. Pascoe, who had been in charge of the Political Affairs Department of the UN for five years, until his retirement in 2012, may have been too pushy for the liking of either side, even though he had the backing of Washington that could have secured concessions from Ankara.

Apart from the support of the US government, Pascoe had another advantage over Eide – he knew the Cyprus problem and would not have required an adjustment period for familiarising himself with the issue. The Norwegian, on the other hand, could not be accused of having a hidden agenda the way an American special advisor would. He could also be a quick learner and skilled facilitator/mediator who would adopt a fresh approach and make a difference.

Eide will however know that there have been countless Special Advisors before him, all of whom failed to achieve the desired result, not because of professional inadequacy or lack of commitment but because the two sides are more interested in keeping the procedure going than in an actual settlement. He will also know that the job will not make him popular – if one side approves of his actions, the other will not and both would be waiting for him to make a mistake so they could start criticising his alleged bias.

Given the history of the Cyprus talks, it is a wonder that any respected politician or diplomat would be willing to take on the job of UNSG’s Special Advisor on Cyprus, a job title that the Mail says has become synonymous with failure.

Things are fluid at the talks

Lefteris Adilinis writing in online magazine Newzup says that the negotiators on the Cyprus problem are trying, with the help of the UN, to come up with a formula that would satisfy both sides before the leaders of the two communities meet again on 2 September.

It seems that from the discussions that had taken place before the talks were suspended on 24 July, that Mr. Eroglu was unable to accept that the convergences, divergences and points on which the two sides are close be recorded in the same official document.

To overcome this obstacle, the Greek Cypriot side is considering putting forward the suggestion that only points of disagreement be recorded, which in any case will be discussed in an attempt to bridge the differences.

This would avoid having to record all the convergences and the points on which not much work is needed since Eroglu does not want to commit these in writing before the procedure of give and take.

The UN is also looking into it with the intention of submitting any ideas at the meeting of the negotiators on 26 August.

Meanwhile, Nicosia is beginning to realize that the hope that they and the US had that Erdogan would move quickly on Cyprus after being elected President of Turkey, is rather optimistic, as Ankara is involved in finding a successor for Erdogan as Prime Minister, and its relations with its neighbors are in a period of great turmoil. What’s more, more and more voices are being heard in Europe that they are finding it increasingly difficult to cooperate with Mr. Erdogan. This worries Nicosia, as it considers that Turkey’s approach to Europe is one of its main motivations in solving the Cyprus problem.

Things are fluids within the negotiating team as well. The Greek Cypriot team has got the impression that the Turkish Cypriot team is finding it difficult to agree even among themselves. Kudret Ozersay seems to have his own agenda, centred around his desire to be a candidate at April’s presidential elections in the north. He believes he has a strong chance to win, although it is acknowledged that if Eroglu stands he would get reelected. Ozersay’s ambitions are thought to affect the atmosphere inside the Turkish Cypriot negotiating team, even though Ozersay is keeping his cards close to his chest.

Parties agree to say ‘no’ to Turkish Cypriot road map

The President’s briefing of party leaders on the Cyprus problem on Friday brought a rare moment of consensus on two points: a rejection of the Turkish Cypriot road map for the peace talks, and refusal to enter into a give-and-take process at present, the Cyprus Mail reports.

Government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said the party leaders agreed with the president to hold a three-day meeting of the National Council before Anastasiades leaves for New York to participate in the UN General Assembly.

The lengthy meeting is expected to result in agreement on how the Greek Cypriot side should proceed in the peace process. The president also agreed to brief parliament on the developments in the Cyprus problem behind closed doors.

Based on party leaders’ statements after the briefing, it soon transpired that the only agreement on substance between the political parties and government was on the president’s rejection of Eroglu’s road map for a settlement, and his view that the peace process was not ripe to move to a third phase of give-and-take, the paper says.

AKEL leader Andros Kyprianou said it was important to send a strong message to the Turkish side that the parties unanimously agree “we cannot go to the next phase of give-and-take”. Kyprianou called for domestic unity to confront “Turkish intransigence which is evidently growing, and responsible for the impasse” in the peace talks. He once again called on the president to adopt past convergences agreed between Demetris Christofias and Mehmet Ali Talat, while maintaining the right to negotiate further those chapters which he has strong views on. Only this way will Eroglu be forced to take a real stand on past convergences, he said, as he is insisting on past convergences without clarifying which convergences he’s talking about.

DIKO leader Nicolas Papadopoulos said the briefing confirmed the “sad and unpleasant” fact that the process is at risk of deadlock, both in terms of procedure and substance. “Unfortunately, our side’s tactic and strategy has failed,” he said. “The Turkish side remains with its intransigent positions, while we are left with our concessions and the generous offers we made in the joint declaration.” He added that, what’s worse, was that there is no plan B, only puzzlement and confusion on how to proceed.

EDEK’s Yiannakis Omirou said it was obvious the Turkish side was preparing for a “blame game” in the event of a deadlock. Greens deputy Giorgos Perdikis said the president rightly rejected Eroglu’s road map. “We also support him on the position that past convergences should not be used, many of which constitute very painful concessions for the Greek Cypriots,” he said.

EVROKO leader Demetris Syllouris welcomed Nicosia and Athens’ intention to secure greater EU involvement in the talks so as to base a solution on EU values and principles.

Citizens’ Alliance leader Giorgos Lillikas said he was “satisfied” with the two counts of unanimity in the party leaders’ council on the road map and inadequate groundwork to justify a give-and-take process.

Beyond that, he said he was very concerned that Eroglu’s positions do not just differ on procedure, but on substance.

The Greek Cypriots must prepare a strategy to deal with a possible impasse, but also decide whether it serves their interests to keep the talks on life support, he said.