GREECE and Turkey’s entry into the Cyprus fray is inevitable, UN special envoy Alvaro de Soto said yesterday after his first meeting with President Tassos Papadopoulos under the new negotiations schedule.
De Soto met both leaders separately after the UN announced on Friday that it was changing the format of the talks from direct to proximity talks as the March 22 deadline for a deal draws closer and huge gaps between the two sides still remain.
At the meetings, De Soto handed both sides a document outlining the give-and-take procedure, which Papadopoulos presented to party leaders at a debriefing meeting last night.
According to CyBC, De Soto outlines the main issues on the table and divides them into ‘easy’ and ‘difficult’ subjects. The list of issues reportedly include Papadopoulos’ proposal for extending the Presidential Council from six to nine members and Denktash’s demand to convert EU transitional periods incorporated in the Annan plan into permanent derogations.
House President Demetris Christofias said yesterday the change in format was a sign from the UN that the talks were not going well.
If the leaders fail to reach a deal by next Monday, guarantor powers Greece and Turkey, which are due to begin separate security talks on Cyprus tomorrow, will enter the negotiations at a location in Switzerland for a period of around one week.
De Soto said yesterday it was likely that Greece and Turkey would be entering the negotiations and said he hoped that would help to solve pending issues. Asked if it was inevitable he said: “At this stage… yes. I would say there is a lot of progress being made but I think it is unavoidable that issues would be still pending by March 22 and that we will have to go on to the other one,” De Soto said.
“Preparations are being made. I have been in consultations with Greece and Turkey about the question of their involvement so we are moving in that direction.”
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan was optimistic yesterday. “The Cyprus problem can be solved with the good intentions of both sides,” he said in Istanbul.
Turkish daily Cumhuriyet said new Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis had rejected Erdogan’s proposal that they should both attend the next stage of talks. The newspaper also said that Rauf Denktash had decided not to go to the talks in Switzerland.
The veteran Turkish Cypriot leader has threatened to leave the negotiations and campaign for a ‘no’ vote in the north if his side fails to achieve what it wants in the talks.
De Soto said yesterday his talks with Papadopoulos had been “useful” but added that the direct talks, which had been under way since February 19, had also been useful. “I think we may be able to get some more progress in this procedure,” he said.
The Peruvian envoy said that the give-and-take part of the negotiations had not yet begun. Both leaders have been passing the responsibility for the lack of progress on to the other.
“What we would hope to be able to achieve is further moves towards solving the issues that they have before them, as many as possible, before the next stage,” De Soto said.
He said Sir Kieran Prendergast, UN Under Secretary for Political Affairs, would arrive on the island today.
De Soto did not want to comment on the venue for the quadripartite talks but confirmed that they would not take place in Cyprus. “I do not want to say anything definite until formal proposals or invitations are put to the parties,” he said. He met Denktash in the afternoon but no statements were made after the meeting.
If the quadripartite talks fail, UN Secretary-general Kofi Annan has been mandated to fill in the blanks so that separate referenda can be held on April 20 and a united Cyprus join the EU on May 1.
House Demetris Christofias said yesterday the new format of talks was a sign that things were not going well. “With the separate meetings, the UN are trying to achieve what they have not achieved so far, that is a give-and-take dialogue. If they are to achieve it, this will depend exclusively on the stance of the Turkish side”, Christofias said.
Christofias said the lack of progress making the situation more crucial and he said the “filling of the blanks” by Annan would make acceptance of the plan “even more difficult”.
Mustafa Akinci, leader of the Turkish Cypriot Peace and Democracy Movement said yesterday the chances of finding a solution under the current phase was slim but he said he would prefer discussions on the controversial Annan plan than open-ended talks between the two leaders.
“We made it very clear since the beginning that when we are to choose between a solution and the continuation of the status quo in Cyprus, it is very clear that we are for a solution on the basis of the Annan plan and we do not regard the presence of the status quo as a sustainable situation”, Akinci said after a meeting with United Democrats leader George Vassiliou.
GREECE and Turkey are to launch open-ended talks tomorrow on issues of security and guarantees under the Annan plan. Greek Foreign Ministry Spokesman Giorgos Koumoutsakos said yesterday the talks would be carried out at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Athens. The Greek side will be represented by Director for Political Affairs Ambassador Elias Klis, Director of the Directorate on Cyprus issues Ambassador Constantinos Tritaris and Chief of Staff Major General Stylianos Panagopoulos. Ambassador Bakin Kin will be heading the Turkish delegation.
