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Cypriot leaders begin intensified talks on shaky ground
Greek Cypriot leader Dimitris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat started six daylong sessions on Monday, hoping to overcome obstacles that had hindered progress during 60 meetings over the past 16 months.
Last week UN Special Envoy for Cyprus Alexander Downer handed Christofias the Turkish Cypriot side’s proposals on governance and power-sharing. Christofias summoned a meeting of party leaders on Sunday to discuss the Turkish Cypriot proposals.
Greek Cypriot news reports said the Turkish Cypriot side has conditionally accepted the Greek Cypriot proposal for a weighted vote or cross vote. This would mean that both communities will vote for president and vice president, though the Greek Cypriot vote would be weighted based on the population ratio between the two communities. One of the conditions set is that Turkish nationals will enjoy the same rights EU nationals would have in Cyprus after a settlement, while a second condition calls for two Flight Information Regions, news reports said. A third condition states that the president and vice president of the country would have veto powers.
Yet the Greek Cypriot side eventually rejected the proposals, labeling them as “unacceptable” and a public relations move by Turkey, who they believe is behind the blueprint.
“These proposals cannot form the basis for discussion,” Greek Cypriot government spokesperson Stephanos Stephanou said, following the Sunday meeting. “It was established at the meeting that the proposals ... are unacceptable and are way off the agreed basis for negotiations for a bi-communal, bi-zonal federation with political equality as this is defined in the relevant UN resolutions for a single state, with a single sovereignty, one international personality and a single citizenship,” he added.
On Saturday the Turkish Foreign Ministry confirmed that the Turkish Cypriot side had offered the Greek Cypriot side a “package proposal” on governance and power-sharing issues. Nevertheless, Ankara’s confirmation, which came in a written statement, did not elaborate on components of the proposal.
Recalling Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s proposal for having a quadrilateral meeting among Cypriot leaders, Britain, Greece and Turkey within the framework of UN-led Cyprus negotiations, the ministry said the latest proposal “once more proved the Turkish Cypriot side’s sincerity for reaching a fair and permanent resolution in the shortest time” and is a “very important initiative for reaching this goal at the end of intensified talks in January.”
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