Direct Cyprus Talks Recommence After Seven Years

by Lorys Charalambous, Tax-News.com, Nicosia

17 January 2002

Yesterday saw the start of face-to-face talks between President Glafcos Clerides and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash.
The long-awaited meeting, within the United Nations Protected Area (UNPA) inside Nicosia Airport, was for the most part left up to the two leaders themselves, since they were the ones who came up with the initiative last month after five rounds of unsuccessful UN-led proximity talks between 1999 and 2000.

UN Secretary-general Kofi Annan's special envoy Alvaro de Soto is attending the talks as an observer, as is a UN legal adviser, an addition which has not entirely pleased the Turkish Cypriot leader.

The talks have been set without preconditions and with all issues on the table, a major step forward in that it sets aside the thorny issue of recognition of the self-declared Turkish Cypriot state in the north, which has been the major contributor to the downfall of previous efforts.

There is also an unprecedented urgency to make progress this year with Cyprus' looming European Union accession: negotiations will close with the EU in June.

So to that extent at least, the talks are beginning on a note of optimism. But it must not be forgotten that the two 'patron' states of Greece and Turkey have made bloodcurdling threats on the issue in recent weeks. Statements by Denktash and Turkey idicate that their demand for two separate states still stands, and Turkey said it would annex Northern Cyprus if the island was admitted to the EU as a whole. Greece for its part has threatened to block the entire EU enlargement process if Cyprus is not admitted.

"The signs are not very hopeful," said one Greek Cypriot analyst yesterday. "The public statements from Turkey and from Denktash are not really optimistic." Describing the talks as "not quite an exercise in futility", the analyst said the only hope lay in whether there were some moderate forces at work within the Turkish administration because "basically they haven't changed their tune at all".

As with the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, the key is America, although in this case US willingness to force a deal stands more chance of success than it does across the Mediterranean. The current US attitude towards the issue is as impenetrable as ever, although the chances of a successful outcome, which require some toughness towards Turkey by the Americans, have probably been lessened by the post-Sept 11th need for the US to keep in with states bordering Afghanistan.

The UN expects ten round of talks to take place, the majority in Nicosia but also in Geneva and New York. It has allocated a $1.4 million budget for the duration.

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