Ban: process should not be seen as zero-sum game’

U.N. SECRETARY General Ban Ki-moon is “cautiously optimistic” over prospects for a settlement, but advises both sides not to view the process as a “zero-sum game.”
Conversely, in diplomatic language in his latest report on Cyprus, Ban hints the talks are not moving forward as fast as expected, noting that the momentum in the second phase of the negotiations “needs to be maintained or even accelerated.”
President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat have held more than 50 meetings since the talks began last year.
Ban said he was “encouraged by the commitment, courage and determination shown by the two leaders despite the considerable challenges posed by the negotiations and the ongoing domestic criticism in the north and the south directed at the leaders and the process.”
“My overall assessment is that the parties are making solid progress, and I am cautiously optimistic that a solution can be achieved,” Ban said.
“Implementing in practice the agreed objective of a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality in a united Cyprus in which the concerns of both parties are taken into account and that is, at the same time, functional and stable, is a considerable challenge. It is ambitious, but it is achievable.”
Ban said the coming weeks and months would be decisive and urged the leaders to seize the day.
“Ultimately, the two sides must continue to demonstrate flexibility so as to accommodate each other’s concerns, as no solution can be perfect for either side. At the same time, the process of negotiation should not be seen as a ‘zero-sum game’, since both sides will gain in a united Cyprus,” the Secretary General says.
After recapping progress in talks from 10 May to 25 November this year, the Secretary General notes that considerable convergence has been achieved in the areas of governance and power-sharing, the economy and EU matters, “with more limited progress being made with regard to property, territory and security.”
Mention is made of the agreement to open a crossing point between the communities at Limnitis, which the Secretary General calls a confidence-building measure that assists ongoing reunification talks.
Nevertheless, Ban notes that despite agreement on nearly two dozen CBMs during the preparatory phase of the talks, “the parties made little progress in their implementation of some of those measures during the reporting period.”
Ban also stressed the need to create “a favourable environment and conditions conducive” to the continued progress of the talks.
“In this regard participation and engagement on the part of civil society in the effort to achieve a solution and in its implementation will be crucial. Furthermore, the parties will have to be prepared to explain to the people in the clearest terms the benefits of a solution so that they can make an informed decision regarding the peace agreement.”
He concluded in saying that the leaders needed to maintain “their good personal and working relationship, which is vital for the success of the talks.”

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.