By Jean Christou and Stefanos Evripidou
DURING today’s contacts, President Nicos Anastasiades will request from Vice President Joe Biden that the US sends a clear message to Turkey to stop its harassment and its violations in Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone, sources said.
He will brief the US delegation on the Cyprus issue and particularly the second ‘substantive’ phase of the talks and the difficulties being encountered. He is also expected to tell them that Cyprus welcomes US support for the process.
According to the sources, Biden met with the Greek American community in Washington before his departure, spending 50 minutes with them. According to the sources, Biden is keen not to upset Greek Americans so close to the time – September – when he will decide whether to run as a Democrat candidate for president in the next US elections.
The sources said he told the Greek American community he was coming to try and help with the Cyprus issue and that he was sensitive to concerns of Greek Cypriots about his visit to the north to meet Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu.
In the wake of the fuss over flags and symbols of the breakaway state, it has been agreed that Biden will meet Eroglu at his residence rather than the ‘presidential palace’.
The sources said that two hours before the meeting, Biden’s people would be sending an advance team to the north to scope the meeting ground, and if they see anything they don’t like, the meeting with Eroglu could be called off and the Turkish Cypriot leader could boycott the bicommunal dinner later. Eroglu has been ‘difficult’ about the visit, the sources said.
On the flip side, if the visit to the north goes ahead and the Turkish Cypriot side ‘breaks the rules’ while he is there, Anastasiades reserves the right not to attend the dinner at Chateau Status.
No statements are expected on the controversial issue of confidence building measures, but Biden is expected to make a statement expressing hope and need to rally around for a solution. The discussions will be more about briefing the US VP on latest developments and raising the issue of what the US can do to influence Turkey.
Putting aside the Cyprus problem and its complicated etiquette, the sources said Biden’s visit was of “historic importance” for the Republic both in terms of energy and the fallout from EU sanctions against Russia over the situation in Ukraine. Both topics will be high on the agenda.
Biden’s delegation includes, along with his National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, US Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Diplomacy Amos Hochstein, a representative from President Barack Obama’s office and a state department official.
The Cypriot delegation at the presidential palace talks includes, apart from Anastasiades, the ministers of foreign affairs, finance and energy, the undersecretary to the president, the government spokesman and the Cypriot ambassador to Washington.
The sources said the US was interested in regional cooperation and believe that Cyprus can play the connecting link in this area such as being the go-between for Egypt and Israel in energy cooperation.
Anastasiades has also spoken with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and discussed the agenda. He agreed to raise the issue of Cyprus, Greece and Israel cooperation.
The sources said the US was in a rush to get gas to Europe, and a pipeline to Turkey, if it ever became politically feasible, would take time. There is a possibility the Americans might push the idea of compressed natural gas or floating processing unit, which is contrary to the Cyprus government’s policy to create a land-based LNG plant.
The Ukraine issue will also be a ‘very important’ component, according to the sources. The Americans want to see a unified EU response to sanctions on Russia, but some countries, like Cyprus, have economic or energy dependencies on Moscow.
Cyprus does not believe that isolating Russian President Vladimir Putin is the answer, neither was self-punishment through excessive sanctions that could only harm the EU itself, said the sources.
The EU has already carried out an initial impact assessment on further sanctions, and Cyprus has made its own assessment specifically on the impact it would have on the island’s economy. The sources said the Russian embassy in Nicosia has been fully briefed on the Biden visit.
According to the sources, Biden wants to see results from the visit at the very least on bilateral relations. The sources mentioned the US embargo on weapons sales to the island imposed after 1974, and the visa waiver programme. Cyprus remains one of a handful of EU countries still excluded from the programme, mainly due to the lack of biometric passports. However further negotiations on this are pending, said the sources.
In addition to these, both Sullivan and Kerry told Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides in recent meetings in Washington that they believe Cyprus and the US can cooperate on a more strategic basis on anti-terrorism measures.
Also, on the economy, the two delegations will discuss technical support for small and medium-sized businesses, and educational scholarships.
