Since then, the EU has not kept its promise to end the isolation of Turkish Cyprus but still requests that Turkey open its ports to Greek Cyprus and recognize it as an EU country. Furthermore, Greek Cyprus has been blocking chapters that would bring Turkey closer to the EU.
Turkish leaders are frustrated with the attitude adopted by the EU and Greek Cyprus. Thus, they are seriously reconsidering their position and thinking about changing their current policies. The first signal came from Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu. In a statement made in May, Davutoğlu underlined that Turkey would open all of its ports to Greek Cyprus if the world and the EU opened two ports and an airport to Turkish Cyprus. It was clear that Turkey was using this position as a bargaining chip, yet neither Greek Cyprus nor the EU agreed to Davutoğlu’s suggestion.
Now reliable sources are saying the AKP government is reconsidering its position and thinking about altering it by the end of September or the beginning of October. Sources close to Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Çiçek confirm that Turkey is preparing to launch a new diplomatic initiative towards the international recognition of Turkish Cyprus. The reason the AKP may be planning to alter its policy is because of their frustration with the EU. Çiçek, on more than one occasion, has himself mentioned that they are seriously considering launching such an initiative. When I asked Hüseyin Çelik, AK Party deputy chairman, about such a possibility, he neither denied nor confirmed anything. Instead, he stated, “Turkey will not be the one leaving the negotiating table; yet, it appears that things cannot go on like this forever.” By this statement Mr. Çelik referred to the deadlock and signaled a possible change.
Furthermore, Çelik referred to what Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had said during the fourth traditional iftar (fast-breaking) dinner at his party’s headquarters in the Turkish capital on Thursday organized by AK Party Deputy Chairman Ömer Çelik. Numerous ministers, representatives of the media, foreign envoys to Turkey -- except for Israeli Ambassador Gaby Levy -- and religious leaders of different faiths attended the dinner. During the gathering, Erdoğan urged the EU to adopt a constructive and determined approach to solving the Cyprus issue. “We want a just and lasting solution to the Cyprus issue by year’s end,” he said. “Efforts to solve it can’t continue forever.”
On a separate occasion, Turkey’s chief European Union negotiator, Egemen Bağış, reiterated the Turkish call for the EU to stay loyal to its commitments. “We are expecting the European Union to meet its obligations. The joint drive of Turkey and the EU for a common future is a mutual promise based on agreements, conventions and anonymously voted EU resolutions,” Bağış said in a letter he sent to British daily The Times. He also said Turkey as a country had been taking steps to normalize its relations with Armenia and that it had extended support to ongoing settlement talks in Cyprus.
Foreign observers say it would be a grave mistake for Turkey to adopt such policy and that it would backfire. Yet Turkish diplomatic sources seem to think Turkey will be left no option if the Greek Cypriots continue to block Turkey’s path to the EU. Diplomatic circles in Ankara believe that while Turkey is promoting negotiations, it must also continue to prepare the groundwork for possible diplomatic recognition of Turkish Cyprus. The purpose of this strategy would be to put pressure on the Greek side to come to a reasonable agreement. As a first step, it would be enough to promote allowing the Turkish side to have recognized “observer” status in international organizations.
Sources told me that depending on the negotiation situation the AKP leadership is planning a new approach that will make the traditionalist leader of Turkish Cyprus, Derviş Eroğlu, very happy.
