PARTITION of the island is not an option, and British former foreign secretary Jack Straw who suggested the notion, is in contradiction with a protocol signed by Cyprus and Britain, the government said yesterday.
“Partition is not an option for us, “ government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou said of the comment piece penned by Straw and published in The Times.
The spokesman said Straw’s positions were in conflict with a memorandum of understanding signed by Cyprus and Britain in 2008, which speaks of reunification on the basis of a bizonal, bicomunal federation, and not partition.
“If Mr. Straw is promoting partition then he should know that this means – according to the Treaty of Establishment with which the UK acquired two military bases in Cyprus – that she cannot hold on to these bases in Cyprus,” Stefanou said.
The memo’s key clauses refer to the UK’s obligations emanating from the 1960 treaties, including its role as a guarantor power, as well as a commitment not to support “any moves towards the partition of the island or the recognition or upgrading of any separate political entity”.
“(Partition) is not an option for the United Nations and the various international organisations as it is not for the European Union itself. There are resolutions, and decisions, both by the UN and the EU,” Stefanou said.
In his article on Monday, Straw argued that it was time for the UK government to “consider the formal partition of Cyprus” if the current round of UN-backed reunification talks fail.
“We should pray for success,” Straw said, but added that “the chances of a settlement would be greatly enhanced if the international community broke a taboo, and started publicly to recognise that if political equality cannot be achieved within one state, then it could with two states – north and south”.
On Sunday, quoting unnamed diplomats, the Financial Times suggested that Cyprus might slide towards formal partition if a make-or-break meeting of Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders at the UN next week fails to find a solution.
“If we don’t get agreement now …then it really is ‘goodnight, nurse’,” a leading diplomat involved in negotiations told the Financial Times.
The newspaper quotes another EU diplomat who warned that the New York meeting is the last chance for a solution since progress in the talks so far has been pitiful.
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