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Cyprus deal prospects dim despite calls for deadline
In his first public criticism of recently elected Turkish Cypriot President Derviş Eroğlu, Greek Cypriot leader Dimitris Christofias said on Wednesday that Eroğlu has shifted his position despite his statements calling for a peace agreement before the end of the year.
“It’s perfectly clear that the hardening of the other side’s stance completely contradicts statements by Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot leadership that they wish for a settlement to be achieved by the end of the year,” Christofias said in a prepared statement after talks with Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou. Christofias’ public criticism of Eroğlu is likely to further complicate the peace efforts.
Eroğlu and Christofias met for the fifth time on Thursday to discuss the issue of property, one of the most complicated aspects of the Cyprus problem. Speaking after the talks, Eroğlu said the two sides agreed to continue negotiations on the matter.
Eroğlu, who was elected president in April, has vowed to continue reunification talks despite concerns that he would seek the partitioning of the island. He resumed talks with Christofias soon after his election, which first began under his pro-settlement predecessor, Mehmet Ali Talat. Eroğlu has accused Greek Cypriots of unfairly portraying him as a separatist while insisting that talks cannot continue indefinitely, a view echoed by the Turkish government.
Eroğlu and Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Çiçek, addressing a ceremony earlier this week on the anniversary of Turkish military intervention in the island 36 years ago, both said the talks could not go on forever, demanding a solution by end of the year.
The Turkish side warned that failure to reach a settlement by then could lead to the partitioning of the island. “We seek a solution by the end of 2010. However, if this cannot be achieved everyone will go their separate ways,” Çiçek said at the ceremony on Tuesday.
Christofias described calls for a deadline to the talks as a Turkish bid “to apportion responsibility” for the lack of progress. Instead, he urged Eroğlu to accept Greek Cypriot proposals on key issues of property, territorial adjustments and the fate of Turkish mainlanders who settled in northern Cyprus.
He also urged Turkey to return the eastern coastal town of Varosha, which has remained an uninhabited ghost town since the invasion, back to its Greek Cypriot residents. In return, the Greek Cypriot government would consent to the opening of the northern port of Famagusta under European Union supervision, thus opening Turkish Cypriots to international trade.
The Cyprus dispute complicates Turkey’s aspirations to join the European Union as well. On Wednesday, Greek Prime Minister Papandreou urged the Turkish side to accept Christofias’ proposals. “As far as Greece and Turkey is concerned, Cyprus can either divide us or unite us. Obviously we seek the latter,” said Papandreou said during a brief stopover. “For us, solving the Cyprus problem is a precondition for the full normalization of Greco-Turkish relations.”
Christofias said Turkey would see benefits in its EU efforts if his proposals are accepted. “The benefits of our proposals are clear for the Turkish Cypriot community, and the gains are equally clear for Turkey, which will benefit in its [EU] accession drive since chapters which are now frozen will open,” Christofias said.
Greek Cypriots, who represent Cyprus in the European Union, will not agree to Turkey joining until Cyprus’s division is resolved. Several negotiation areas in Turkey’s EU talks are frozen because of Cyprus.
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