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Cyprus Government Digs In Over Single Sovereignty

by Lorys Charalambous, Tax-News.com, Cyprus

15 April 2002

The Greek Cypriot government of Cyprus last week dug its heels in over the issue of single sovereignty of the island.

Government spokesman Michalis Papapetrou, explained that although the authorities recognise the importance of political equality between the two Cypriot communities, sovereignty of the jurisdiction cannot be split, as quite apart from anything else, this would block Cyprus's entry to the European Union.

'If there is going to be one state, as envisaged in UN resolutions and the high-level agreements, we cannot speak of more than one sovereignty,' Mr Papapetrou explained.

The meetings between President Clerides and the leader of the Turkish Cypriots, Rauf Denktash, are continuing, and the two sides have been urged to demonstrate 'flexibility and a spirit of give and take' in order to reach an agreement by the summer. Speaking last week, UK Minister for Europe, Peter Hain, expressed the United Kingdom's support for the reunification process in Cyprus, but warned that a sense of urgency in the negotiation process is now necessary:

'My message is that Britain stands right behind you,' he said during a 24 hour official visit. 'What is needed is more courage, more determination and more willingness to compromise...but the clock is ticking.'

Not everyone is convinced that a compromise will be reached by the June deadline. Speaking earlier this year, EU Enlargement Commissioner, Guenther Verheugen predicted that there was a less than 50% chance of the talks reaching a successful conclusion this year, because the Turkish Cypriots refuse to budge on the issue of sovereignty, demanding the recognition of two sovereign states on the island.

'I don't know whether we can expect any real progress before summer, but it does look doubtful,' he observed gloomily. However the Commissioner did admit that there was a small possibility that Turkey could suddenly 'unblock' the Cyprus talks by making a breakthrough decision.

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