THE UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres returns to Crans-Montana today presumably to knock heads together because the two sides are now in disagreement over the framework for the negotiations they had decided with him last Friday. According to reports from Switzerland each side is accusing the other of submitting written proposals on Monday that were not within this framework.
Another claim in the press was that the secretary-general’s Special Advisor Espen Barth Eide was to blame for allegedly not transferring to paper what had been agreed as the framework on Friday. Was this possible? Very doubtful, if not impossible, but one Greek Cypriot newspaper reported that the Guterres framework had “obvious signs of biased divergence towards the Turkish positions”.
The truth is that from Monday both sides have been engaging in the blame game and focusing on scoring points with the media rather than finding compromises for their differences. We have not heard a single positive word, suggesting there was a hint of good faith, from either side. Only Mustafa Akinci refrained from adding fuel to the fire by saying nothing in public, restricting himself to issuing a written statement containing generalities.
The two foreign ministers, in contrast, have been going out of their way to raise tensions and strain relations. The last thing such a delicately balanced process needed was two, hot-headed ministers making statements to the media calculated to provoke the other side. At times, the exchanges were on the level of insults. Do they really think this behaviour fosters co-operation and a constructive spirit? Both Nicos Kotzias and Melvut Cavusoglu have been behaving like bruisers rather than diplomats.
Putting aside the publicity games and scheming of the two sides, the Guterres framework leaked to the media is extremely positive for the Greek Cypriot side. Not only does it stipulate the end of the system of guarantees and of unilateral intervention rights, it also envisages the withdrawal of troops, with only the contingents of Greece and Turkey remaining.
All sides had agreed to this framework last Friday indicating that President Anastasiades got most of the things he was seeking on security and guarantees. Yet his public statements suggested he was not very happy with the way the talks were going. Perhaps Guterres’ return might persuade him that he was unrealistic thinking he would get everything he wanted. It might also persuade the Turkish side to make a few more steps towards a compromise. Yesterday there was a flurry of activity – meetings, submission of documents, consultation – and no media statements. The thought of Guterres arriving seems to have forced all sides to focus on the actual negotiations.
