Saturday 22 March 2008

1. Government spokesman
Cyprus' Government Spokesman, Stefanos Stefanou, yesterday said he was satisfied with the outcome of the meeting between Christofias and Talat. He also said that work would start straight away with a meeting between the two leaders' aides, Iacovou and Nami, on Monday. Asked why no mention is made of the 8 July agreement in the joint communiqué issued by the two leaders, since from the moment he was elected Mr Christofias has been saying that it would have to be the starting point of any new initiative, the Spokesman said: “I believe it is sufficient for anyone to compare the agreement with the outcome of the meeting". He recalled that the 8 July agreement provides for the setting up of technical committees and working groups to discuss day-to-day issues and confidence-building measures as well as substantive issues. "You can draw your own conclusions”, he said.

2. Reactions to the meeting
The Cyprus Mail reports that the international community welcomed the outcome of the Christofias-Talat meeting. “We are genuinely pleased,” one diplomat told the paper. “It is hard to see what more could have been done,” he added.A second diplomat close to the process said there had been genuine good will. “The meeting started off like that and continued throughout,” he said. “There was some back and forth but the good will has to be sustained, and from all the indications this will be possible,” he added.
Fearing too much of a negative climate in the run-up to the meeting, ambassadors from the five Permanent Members of the UN Security Council, Britain, France, Russia, China and the US, held meetings with both leaders in an attempt to tone down the rhetoric. In the end, both appeared to be satisfied and neither could be accused of “backing down” on their positions.The first diplomat said his impression that behind Talat’s demand for timetables was his concern that the July 8 process could be used for stalling, as it had been during the term of Tassos Papadopoulos. Talat may now believe that with a meeting already scheduled in three months’ time, and with the commitment to implement the July 8 agreement without stalling for another 18 months, timetables are no longer necessary for that extra push. “If they continue to work at it he is happy,” said the diplomat. “Maybe Christofias convinced him that if both leaders want a solution they don’t need to be obsessed with timetables.”

British High Commissioner Peter Millett said yesterday’s meeting was an important first step towards negotiations, “which we hope, will lead to the reunification of the island”. “It is a clear sign that the two leaders have the political will to tackle the issues and work for a solution,” he added. The British foreign secretary, David Miliband, said: "Today has brought good news from Cyprus. The meeting is a step towards real progress in the region and demonstrates the sort of leadership needed to reunite Cyprus. I hope both leaders will continue to show courage and determination, and that both sides work hard to see this through to a comprehensive settlement." EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said the European Union welcomed the successful meeting between the two leaders “and their agreement to take full responsibility for the future conduct of the negotiations” he said, adding that the EU was ready to support the negotiations. He also congratulated the leaders "on the important symbolic decision to open the Ledra Street crossing. "I look forward to walking across the green line at Ledra Street myself in the near future."The US also welcomed the outcome of the meeting saying that the developments yesterday were very promising.On the domestic front, most political parties welcomed yesterday’s outcome as a first step in the right direction. Only the parties that had supported Papadopoulos’ policies on the Cyprus issue appeared somewhat muted in their response. Critics pointed out that the July 8 agreement had not been mentioned at all, deeming it a bad omen for the Greek Cypriot side’s position. DIKO said “neither excessive optimism nor excessive pessimism” were justified. It said the start of the working groups and technical committees would reveal how much the Turkish side “had abandoned its intransigent positions” and whether or not it would collaborate for a solution. AKEL, the United Democrats and DISY all issued statements of support for the process.

3. Greek Cypriot press

Giorgos Kaskanis writing in Politis says that in the various supporters of the recently rejected policy on Cyprus and of the person who expressed it, have already appeared on TV to express their doubts on the present developments. These people who would have been delighted if yesterday's meeting had led to failure, sat quirming in their chairs with long faces down to the ground, and began to express their doubts before the two leaders had hardly left the Moller residence. "Yes, but, they didn't mention 8 July"; "Let's see if the chapters they will discuss are the same ones the previous president had set", "they will soon lead us to direct talks"...The supporters of a dead and failed policy are in a difficult position. Up until yesterday hey were sure that Talat's intransigence would block everything, so now they can't welcome a tangible result. Up until yesterday they were swearing at Millett for saying that the differences between the two sides can be bridged, can't figure out how the Englishman could have been right. Having learned to live with deadlock can't understand how Christofias would want to stress where they had agreed and not where they had disagreed. If they want to be miserable, let them. But they have no right to deprive a nation of its right to hope. If Talat is truly intransigent, if Turkey truly wants partition, and if the foreigners want our obliteration, then what, pray, do these supporters of the ex-president propose? If this isn't the most defeatist attitude to the Cyprus problem, then i don't know what is.

Simerini says Talat, the occupier did not make any concessions. So why did Christofias?This is what we have to wonder after yesterday's meeting. It is clear from the joint communique that his endless declarations against tight deadlines and non-interference of foreigners, has gone up in smoke. It is clear that the 8 July agreement has been sidelined.No reference was made as to the basis of talks, or the parameters of a solution, they just agreed on the procedure. But Talat did set tight deadlines. He said that while the Turkish side wanted a solution by the end of 2008, now he wants one as soon as possible. So does Christofias although he was declaring different things previously. It seems these were just for the naive who believed that the new President would stick to his pre-election promises. He obviously didn't reckon on the crafty Brits. As Simerini revealed yesterday, the five permament members of the UN Security Council, obviously led by the British, put three issues before the two leaders: a) matters on which they agreed b) matters which needed to be re-examined c)matters on which they disagreed. A reader between the lines of the communique will clearly see that 8 July has disappeared and the British formula appeared in its place.

4. Turkish press
Politis says that the Turkish media were all talking about "a new era for Cyprus". NTV inverviewed a Turkish academician, Gengiz Aktar, who suggested that Turkey should make a goodwill gesture by withdrawing 500 troops. Talat's spokesman Hasan Ercakica was also guest of the programme who said Talat was pleased with the meeting and ready to participate in this new procedure. Hurriyet's headline was "They agreed to start talks" while Millyet's "Ledra opens". Cyprus was a secondary news item in Turkey yesterday as most media were preoccupied with events there.

5. Foreign Press

Michael Theodoulou in the London Times says that barricades that have split Nicosia's most famous shopping street for nearly half a century and form the most potent symbol of Cyprus’s division, will be dismantled as a first goodwill gesture towards the island's reunification.

Helena Smith in the Guardian says Cyprus came a step closer to healing the wounds of division yesterday after the leaders of its Greek and Turkish communities pledged to rid the island of one of its most enduring symbols of partition and relaunch long-stalled reunification talks. What could be a decisive moment in resolving one of the world's most complex diplomatic tangles follows five fruitless years under the nationalist, no-compromise Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos. The election of Christofias, whose more flexible approach is overwhelmingly supported by the political opposition, has highlighted the renewed desire of Greek Cypriots for a solution ahead of a crucial visit to the island by a UN team that will assess the feasibility of talks later this month.