Fears over hardline stance of new coalition in north

Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci left for Berlin on Monday for a meeting with German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier, leaving behind political party wrangling to form a new ‘government’ that could already be on the table when he returns on Saturday.
Akinci has given the mandate to the National Unity Party (UBP), a move that has raised concerns not only on the Greek Cypriot side but also within the US administration, according to Cyprus News Agency sources.
The head of the Turkish Cypriot Democratic Party (DP) Serdar Denktash has said his party was ready to form a coalition with the UBP, which observers feel could have a negative impact on the Cyprus talks, given both parties’ more hardline stance on the political issue. Denktash has already said though his party trusts Akinci, “the one which we do not trust due to its insincerity is the Greek Cypriot side”.
The talks have already slowed down due to the Greek Cypriot parliamentary elections next month.
US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Victoria Nuland, will be in Cyprus on April 19 and will also visit Turkey beforehand. Nuland will meet both leaders. CNA, citing sources, said the US official would seek to find out whether the statements by the Turkish president in support of a Cyprus solution would become concrete actions. They also said that recent political developments in the north had caused concern to the US and Washington`s aim was to find out whether those developments were engineered by Ankara.
In interview prior to his departure for Germany, Akinci said the target was to reach a solution this year and that he expected intensified talks after the May 22 elections.
“No community could remain outside international law forever,” he was quoted as saying. “Out of the six chapters, serious progress has been achieved on four, but of course we do have some serious problems but we aim to overcome these and gain momentum in the second half of the year,” said Akinci. “Of course Turkey has some weight on the island, we can’t deny this. The military is here and it has an economic contribution. And a subject where Turkey will be involved is the issue of security and guarantees. That is why we will take up that issue last. If we get a good outcome from the other chapters I believe we can reach an agreement on this issue as well.”
Asked about the political situation in the north, he said he would keep his promise to stay an equal distance from all political parties, and be impartial and independent. Last Friday he gave UBP leader Huseyin Ozgurgun 15 days to form a ‘government’ but the latter hopes to present the new ‘cabinet’ to Akinci on April 16.
Meanwhile, on the Greek Cypriot side on Monday, the rejectionist parties, reading from the same script, concerned themselves, not only with the changes on the Turkish Cypriot scene, which they say were negative for the talks, but also with the “upgrading” of Akinci due to his Berlin trip. The Turkish Cypriot leader is also due to meet UK Defence Secretary Phillip Hammond in London either later this month or in early May.
DIKO called for a meeting of the National Council to discuss both sets of developments.

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.