ALITHIA: “UN fully supports its envoy” Reporting on the Cyprus problem, the daily commented that while Nicosia was trying to convey the message that the UN were not playing fairly, UN undersecretary-general Sir Kiran Prentergast stressed that its special envoy Alvaro de Soto had the full backing of the organisation. It is clear that De Soto’s paper is mere documentation of what the two sides tabled during the talks. It is also clear that the text was not binding since he asked the two leaders to take a stance on the points they agree and disagree.
HARAVGHI: “Anxious about the referenda” The daily commented that foreign envoys were very worried about the negative climate concerning the UN plan and the prospects of the referenda. The various surveys have alarmed foreigners who have embarked on a series of actions aiming in reversing the climate. Within this framework UN special envoy Alvaro de Soto made statements claiming progress in the talks, while interviews given by his associates aimed at making the UN plan look good.
SIMERINI: “De Soto set us up” Simerini commented that UN special envoy Alvaro de Soto and the UN had crippled fundamental changes requested by President Tassos Papadopoulos during the talks in order for the solution to be functional. This transpired from the paper drafted by de Soto aimed at kick-starting a give-and-take procedure between the two sides. This is expected to continue during the four-party meeting in Switzerland on March 23, the daily said.
MACHI: “Ankara is afraid of May 1” Machi yesterday reported that according to an analysis done by American organisation Stratfor, Turkey was afraid that the Greek Cypriot part of Cyprus would join the EU on its own and foil Turkey’s attempt to join, which is based on a united island acceding to the bloc. Turkish officials are now concerned that the new Greek government will be less open to compromise and the main reason is the appointment of the Greek Foreign Ministry to Petros Molyviatis.
POLITIS: “By-passing Brussels” Turkey is planning to exploit a legal loophole in the UN Charter in order to by-pass the EU’s unwillingness to include permanent derogations of the UN plan into the acquis communautaire. Ankara is trying include any deal on the Cyprus problem under the “protection” of Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which overrides European law. This aims at avoiding possible Greek Cypriot appeals after the solution to the European Court of Human Rights.
PHILELEFTHEROS: “EU shuts the door” Ankara’s insistence to include permanent derogations in any agreement on Cyprus and re-ratify the accession treaty by EU member states is considered unfeasible by the EU, Politis said. Enlargement Commissioner Gunther Verheugen sent a team of experts to Ankara to explain why Turkey’s demands could not be met.
