As Mick Jagger said: ‘You can’t always get what you want’
THE TURKISH government genuinely wants a solution based on a bizonal, bicommunal federation, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza said yesterday.
Speaking to reporters after meeting President Demetris Christofias and Foreign Minister Marcos Kyprianou, the US diplomat said that Turkey’s interest in a solution, combined with the presence of two “pro-solution” leaders created a “special opportunity” for the reunification of the island.
“For the first time we have pro-solution leaders leading both communities, we could never say that in the past,” he said.
The US official described his meeting with Christofias as very “in depth, warm and constructive”. He noted that on some issues the two leaders have bridged their differences and have come to a lot of agreed language, adding that “there are fundamental philosophical differences that are quite difficult to resolve”.
Bryza noted that “the Turkish government has provided Mr (Mehmet Ali) Talat space to negotiate in good faith” at least on the issues that have been discussed so far.
“Now some tough ones remain to be resolved,” he added.
Pressed to comment on Ankara’s consistent talk of two states and two peoples in Cyprus, Bryza said from his private discussions with senior Turkish officials he got the impression that “there are plenty of people in positions of high authority who do want to see a reunified island that is a bizonal, bicommunal federation.”
Welcoming the two leaders’ decision to open Limnitis, Bryza announced that the US is “ready to offer financial assistance, if the parties seek it, to help the reopening of Limnitis crossing go forward even faster”.
Bryza clarified that he hoped, not anticipated, for a solution between the two sides by the end of the year. After listening to both Christofias and Talat, the US official said he sensed their commitment to target an agreement by the end of the year, but also sensed that neither wants to be in a hurry.
“Neither leader, understandably, wants time to be a pressure on them, to have to make concessions that their voters are not ready for. It’s a hope everybody’s expressed, but as Mick Jagger said: ‘You can’t always get what you want’,” he said.
Bryza highlighted the “confluence of positive factors” that lend themselves to a solution this year, including strong interest by the international community and “an international timetable that has provided incentives for the parties to move forward”.
“Everybody knows that Turkey has obligated itself to fulfil the additional Ankara protocol and to reopen its ports to Cypriot vessels,” Bryza said, referring to the European Commission’s assessment of Turkey due this December.
The US diplomat added that Turkish officials were well aware of the pending December review, noting: “One thing you can say about Turkish strategic thinkers is that they are well-informed and they are very powerful thinkers so I think they understand.”
Asked whether anyone had asked for American help during his meetings on the island, Bryza replied: “No, the spirit of constructiveness has really hit me this time, in a way that is more hopeful than it has done in the past. They’re doing a good job on their own.”
He noted, however, that there were proposals to provide at a later date, if requested, “smart people of which there are many in all of our countries to offer ideas on how to bridge the final gaps as the parties move forward”.
