Greek Cypriot side remains firm

President Nicos Anastasiades today met with political party leaders ahead of his meeting later this afternoon with UN Special Adviser Espen Barth Eide where he is due to give an official response for the Greek Cypriot side’s rejection of a proposal for a twin-track process to resolve the hydrocarbons dispute, the Cyprus Mail reports.

After the meeting at the presidential palace, Government Spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said there had been a good exchange of views with the party leaders on the argument the Greek Cypriot side would be putting to Eide.

The content of this position would remain a private matter between the President, his aides and the UN Special Adviser during their meeting later, the spokesman said. Anastasiades is due to meet Eide at 6.30pm.

“Mr Eide will be briefed through this meeting and not in public,” Christodoulides said.

What he could say, was that the position of the Greek Cypriot side had not changed and was unanimous. “The issue of hydrocarbons can in no way be discussed either at the [negotiating table] table nor during any other parallel process,” said the spokesman.

“It is very important that the party leaders firmly agree on this position.”

The spokesman said the issue of energy was an important incentive both to the Turkish Cypriots and to Turkey to solve the Cyprus problem as soon as possible. “Any other discussion or idea for discussion serves as a vehicle for failure to resolve the Cyprus problem,” Christodoulides said.

“It was Turkey by its actions that have escalated the situation and led us to the decision to suspend our participation in the talks, so any action or efforts [to defuse the situation] should be directed there.”

In early October, Turkey announced plans to carry out surveys within Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and sent in the seismic vessel Barbaros on October 20 with plans to carry out exploration until December 30. This prompted Anastasiades to withdraw from the talks. The Greek Cypriot side said it will not contemplate returning to the talks until the Barbaros has left the EEZ.

Meanwhile Eide has been trying to defuse the situation by  suggesting a twin-track process where hydrocarbons would be discussed in parallel to the settlement talks. This has been rejected by both sides. The UN Special Adviser arrived back on the island on Monday for a week of meetings with leaders, the chief negotiators, other political figures, ambassadors and academics. He will meet with Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu on Wednesday morning. He will leave the island on Friday.

The UN said earlier in the week, Eide was expecting an official response to the rejection of his proposal.

Davutoglu: you can’t do what you want with the gas

According to the Cyprus Mail, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said that the hydrocarbons issue should not be used as a weapon by anyone, adding that if Greek Cypriots unilaterally continued to claim Cyprus’ natural resources for themselves, Turkey would reciprocate on behalf of the Turkish Cypriots.

Addressing the Atlantic Council summit in Istanbul, the Turkish Premier said there must be a settlement immediately, arguing that if negotiations stall the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots should form a joint committee to manage Cyprus’ natural gas reserves.

“In Cyprus, if everyone agrees that natural resources around the island belong to the entire island and use these resources in a shared vision towards peace, everyone stands to gain,” he said.

“If [the Greek Cypriots] are seeking to offer these resources, to which Turkish Cypriots also have a right, to international markets unilaterally, then by the same right we will conduct research in the same area along with the Turkish Cypriots,” he added.

Davutoglu said that if the two sides sit together and negotiate with a will to reunite the island as soon as possible, Cyprus would become a country on the rise.

“In such a case, the happiest of countries will be Turkey,” he said and called for the immediate return to the negotiations.

“The Greek Cypriots can’t claim that the Eastern Mediterranean is an area closed to Turks and Turkish Cypriots and conduct research wherever they want,” he asserted, adding that this doesn’t happen in politics, nor in matters of international energy reserves.

He argued that Turkey is the easiest destination for the natural gas to be unearthed from the areas around Cyprus.

“Turkey is also the international market easiest to open,” he said.

“Therefore, no one should use energy as a weapon. If [the Greek Cypriots] were to say that they will impose the peace they want on the other side through control of the gas, then that will be the greatest blow to the Cyprus problem negotiations. Let us use energy as a tool for peace.”

Remarking on the transport of water from Turkey to Cyprus, Davutoglu said that Turkey’s plan was to share it with Greek Cypriots.

“But while we were thinking of sharing our water with the whole island, one side can’t claim the natural resources, which belong to the whole island, for itself,” he said.

He added that in the coming days he would be visiting Athens “to share these prospects with the Greek government.”

In his speech at the summit, US Vice President Joe Biden said Eastern Mediterranean countries should cooperate, and that energy offers a tool for promoting regional stability, security and prosperity, citing the example of Baltic countries to illustrate the potential gains for the region.

The Cyprus problem was also on the agenda of meetings Biden had on Friday with Davutoglu and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.

The paper further reports that Biden briefed President Anastasiades on those meetings over the telephone, saying he had “noted the need to de-escalate tensions in order to get back to a more constructive track in the UN-mediated settlement talks on Cyprus and reinvigorate efforts to seek mutually beneficial solutions”. Both sides emphasized their commitment in reunifying the island as a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation.