INTERNATIONAL mediators said yesterday the political will they were seeking from both sides in Cyprus had been evident at yesterday’s meeting, but warned it must be sustained.
Predictable congratulatory statements were issued by Britain, the US and the EU welcoming the outcome of the meeting between President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat.
For once, however, behind the scenes the feeling was one of equal satisfaction. “We are genuinely pleased,” said one diplomat. “It is hard to see what more could have been done,” he added.
A second diplomat close to the process said there had been genuine good will. “The meeting started off like that and continued throughout,” he said. “There was some back and forth but the good will has to be sustained, and from all the indications this will be possible,” he added.
A UN team is due on the island imminently to asses the situation on the ground before reporting back to UN Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, who has long been seeking signs of good will from both ides to move forward. Without this, the UN has no plans to facilitate any new initiative.
The international community felt forced to step in earlier this week when the two sides began laying down red lines for future talks in the run up to the meeting.
The Greek Cypriot side wanted the focus to be on the July 8, 2006 agreement, which lays down a set of targets and discussions to take place in low-level committees. The deal was designed to work these up to fully fledged talks, for which much of the groundwork would already be in place.
However, the Turkish side said the July 8 agreement was merely a procedural process, and future talks on the substance of the Cyprus issue would necessarily involve the failed Annan plan.
Fearing too much of a negative climate in the run-up to the meeting, ambassadors from the five Permanent Members of the UN Security Council, Britain, France, Russia, China and the US, held meetings with both leaders in an attempt to tone down the rhetoric.
In the end, both appeared to be satisfied and neither could be accused of “backing down” on their positions.
For Christofias, the July 8 agreement yesterday essentially became the basis for future talks, and the outcome equally satisfies Talat’s desire to see it as a procedural process. Talat, however seems to have backed away from his demand for a timetable and solution by the end of this year.
The first diplomat said his impression that behind Talat’s demand for timetables was his concern that the July 8 process could be used for stalling, as it had been during the term of Tassos Papadopoulos.
Talat may now believe that with a meeting already scheduled in three months’ time, and with the commitment to implement the July 8 agreement without stalling for another 18 months, timetables are no longer necessary for that extra push.
“If they [the two sides] continue to work at it he is happy,” said the diplomat. “Maybe Christofias convinced him that if both leaders want a solution they don’t need to be obsessed with timetables.”
British High Commissioner Peter Millett said yesterday’s meeting was an important first step towards negotiations, “which we hope, will lead to the reunification of the island”.
“It is a clear sign that the two leaders have the political will to tackle the issues and work for a solution,” he added.
EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said the European Union welcomed the successful meeting between the two leaders “and their agreement to take full responsibility for the future conduct of the negotiations”
“I commend their decision to meet again in three months’ time to review the work of the working groups and technical committees and, using their results, start fully-fledged negotiations under the auspices of the Secretary-General of the United Nations,” Rehn said, adding that the EU was ready to support the negotiations.
The US made a similar pledge, saying the developments yesterday were very promising.
On the domestic front, most political parties welcomed yesterday’s outcome as a first step in the right direction. Only the parties that had supported Papadopoulos’ policies on the Cyprus issue appeared somewhat muted in their response.
Critics pointed out that the July 8 agreement had not been mentioned at all, deeming it a bad omen for the Greek Cypriot side’s position.
The former President’s party, DIKO, which helped Christofias get elected, said “neither excessive optimism nor excessive pessimism” were justified.
It said the start of the working groups and technical committees would reveal how much the Turkish side “had abandoned its intransigent positions” and whether or not it would collaborate for a solution.
Christofias’ party AKEL, the United Democrats and opposition DISY all issued statements of support for the process.
