According to the Greek Cypriot press, the former leader of the island’s south, Glafcos Clerides, said the issue of recognition of the KKTC’s statehood could be raised by the international community should the current negotiations between the leaders of the two sides lead nowhere. There are widespread fears that the talks will collapse if KKTC Prime Minister Derviş Eroğlu wins Sunday’s presidential elections in the north.
“In a couple of years, recognition [of the KKTC] will be on the agenda, too. The Greek side should formulate a Plan B, especially in the event of Eroğlu’s victory,” he was quoted as saying by the Greek Cypriot press. Clerides is known for his strong support for the reunification of the island in accordance with the Annan plan, which 65 percent of Turkish Cypriots accepted and 75 percent of Greek Cypriots rejected in a referendum.
Clerides stressed that there are people on the Greek side who believe that everything will stay the same, even if the current reunification talks fail to deliver a result. “In fact, the situation will not endure, and the UN will not renew efforts to resolve the issue either,” he said, adding that Greek Cypriots should therefore strive for a solution in the form of a bi-zonal federation where the sides will be politically equal.
He also urged Greek Cypriots to get used to the idea of political equality. “People should not go wild when they hear about equality between 82 and 18 percent [of the population] because political equality has guaranteed its place in the world,” the former leader said, given the fact that independent of their size, every country has equal weight when voting at the UN General Assembly.
