Is there hope in Cyprus?

Mr. Christofias' support for settlement of the Cyprus problem has unfortunately so far mostly been words and not deeds. Mr. Christofias and AKEL supported the election of the previous Greek Cypriot president, Tassos Papadopoulos -- as strongly opposed to a settlement as Rauf Denktaş, the previous Turkish Cypriot president. Mr. Christofias and AKEL also, in a referendum held in 2004, actively campaigned for a "no" vote on the UN-brokered and European Union-supported Annan plan to reunite the island. If the Annan plan had not been rejected by the Greek part of the island, a united Cyprus would have joined the EU, and the presence of Turkish soldiers on the island, the highest concern for Greek Cypriots, would have ended by now.

The fact that Mr. Christofias won the Greek Cypriot presidency on a promise to revive efforts to reunite the island, however, his call to Talat to resume negotiations followed by their meeting on March 21 and the actual resumption of talks since then are the reasons for the once more raised hopes for a settlement. Mr. Talat has even declared that 2008 may be the year of the Cyprus problem's solution.

I was among a group of (pro-solution and Europhile) academics and journalists from Turkey who visited Cyprus last weekend at Talat's invitation. Not only did we get the chance to be briefed on the state of negotiations by Mr. Talat himself and his team of negotiators, but also by Mr. Christofias. We were granted special permission to cross the border to the south by simply presenting our Turkish identity cards, and Christofias very cordially hosted the group at the presidential palace. He made a presentation of his case, which lasted about an hour, and then for another hour or so responded to questions. This occasion is another indication that the attitude in the presidential palace in Nicosia has changed, considering the fact that the former Greek Cypriot president had out of principle avoided meeting journalists from Turkey, and Turkish journalists crossing the border from the north had been unthinkable.

As we listened to Mr. Christofias' presentation, emphasizing the brotherhood of the two peoples on the island and expressing his conviction that a just solution is not only desirable but possible, the general impression among us that things may indeed be moving in the right direction grew stronger. The question-and-answer session with Christofias, however, changed that impression quite radically. We had been told by the Turkish team of negotiators that the talks in the technical committees and working groups formed by the two sides were moving quite smoothly and that the issues on which they could not reach consensus would be left to the presidents to deal with. Mr. Christofias declared, to the contrary, that the talks were not moving at all, because of the two sides' opposing "philosophies."

The Greek side was offering a solution based on the reorganization of the existing Republic of Cyprus on the principles of a bi-zonal and bi-communal federation with political equality of the two sides. The Turkish side, on the other hand, was insisting on "virgin birth," i.e., the creation of a new common state. The Greek side was in favor of a deal negotiated between two sides, while the Turkish side wanted international arbitration. The Greek side wanted an end to the treaty that puts the constitution of the Republic of Cyprus under joint guarantee by Turkey, Greece and Britain, while the Turkish side wanted its continuation. The Greek side was strongly opposed to the implementation of the EU's direct trade regulation with Turkish Cyprus because this would be tantamount to recognizing the existing Turkish Cypriot state. The "final opportunity" for a deal on Cyprus should not be and may not be wasted, but the year 2008 surely does not seem to be the year of the solution of the Cyprus problem.