It was President Nicos Anastasiades who asked for a week’s break in the talks on territory so that he could confer with the Greek prime minister and party leaders at home, the Turkish Cypriot spokesman said on Saturday.
Late on Friday Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci concluded their five-day negotiations in Mont Pelerin where they had been hoping to agree at least on the criteria for territorial adjustments that would include territorial percentages, and then move on to maps to decide what those percentages would cover.
However, it was decided take a recess and continue their talks in Geneva on November 20 after a marathon five-hour session when they failed to complete the criteria stage.
Turkish Cypriot spokesperson Baris Burcu said Akinci had agreed to the break in talks and added that some progress had been made in outlining the criteria, but he made it clear that the Turkish Cypriot leader had not requested the break.
“We were not very pleased with this request, but surely if we are to move forward in a future partnership and create political will, we did not want to let down our interlocutor, Mr Anastasiades,” Burcu said. “We thought that this would surely make him feel more comfortable.”
Commenting on the Mont Pelerin negotiations, Burcu said that the sides would be able to work together on putting criteria down on a map once those had been agreed and a date set for a five-party conference with the presence of the guarantor powers.
No map had been submitted by the Turkish Cypriot side, he said, but three criteria concerning the territorial issue – namely the return of refugees, percentage of territory, and coastline – had been discussed along with other issues.
He added that in Geneva where territorial readjustment issues would be the focus of the talks, both sides would need a few days to discuss how the process would be completed.
According to Politis, citing sources, Akinci had proposed 32 per cent of territory for the Turkish Cypriots. Turkey currently controls 37 per cent of the island. One of the aims was to bring the percentage under 32.
Government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said the goal of reaching an agreement on the issue of territory during talks in Geneva was considered by the Greek Cypriot side as being within reach.
“We consider that it is within reach. It will depend on the results of the dialogue. No one can determine what the final outcome will be,” Christodoulides said.
Asked if any map was put on the table, he replied that neither side had tabled one as the territory criteria had not yet been agreed. He said the aim of the talks in Geneva was to have an agreement on the criteria after which a map would be drawn up to enable the two sides to enter the final phase of negotiations.
Christodoulides said that the dialogue which took place between the two leaders in Mont Pelerin was constructive, noting that progress was achieved on the issues discussed.
He said remarkable progress had been made which allowed for optimism.
On being asked why the talks needed to continue in Switzerland, Christodoulides said Akinci did not want to discuss territorial issues in Nicosia. He said the venue was not important, but rather the substance of what was being discussed on this “very important chapter”, which was why an agreement was reached to continue talks abroad.
Asked if the Turkish Cypriot leader had expressed his demand to set a date for a five-party or a multi-lateral conference, Christodoulides said the issue was not discussed as there had been no agreement on territorial criteria.
“What is important is not just to determine a date for the conference but for progress to be such, so that the conference has chances to succeed. Otherwise, there will be a serious risk of failure that will also threaten the process itself.”
Christodoulides said meetings in Nicosia between the two negotiators would continue during the break from Switzerland.
Political parties on Saturday appeared eager to be informed by President Anastasiades of the essence of developments at Mont Pelerin, and what to expect in Geneva next week.
Diko expressed the opinion that, given the lack of information, it was imperative the National Council met so that parties could be given a full and detailed picture of what was happening immediately Anastasiades returned.
“Diko hoped and wished Anastasiades had not made any new concessions beyond the territorial aspects that had been discussed, and had complied with his commitment to claim back more land than the Annan plan that was rejected by the people in 2004 provided,” a party statement declared.
Diko repeated its position that that it was against any imposition of any form of timeframe or arbitration and expected Anastasiades to respect and utilise the National Council in preparation and during the upcoming Geneva negotiations.
The Green party were particularly downbeat.
“The talks in Mont Pelerin have failed. President Anastasiades accepted the request of Mr Akinci to transfer the talks to supposedly avoid leaks and not cause reactions in the occupied areas. But in Mont Pelerin, Akinci did not lodge maps unlike Mr Anastasiades who presented a map, and even three versions,” a party statement said.
“It is obvious that Mr Akinci went to Switzerland to fix a date for a multi-party meeting. To this end he insisted that there is agreement and UN document, which the United Nations itself never denied. We hope that President Anastasiades has not committed to this, as is claimed by Mr Akinci.”
The Solidarity party was equally critical. “We have reason to believe that everything was pre-agreed and pre-designed and the effort was to ‘sell’ the agreement to the people. It seems that President Anastasiades is committed, both in terms of the percentage of land and the map with respect to the remaining outstanding issues, with the process proceeding rapidly to a five-party conference,” a party statement said.
“If the aim of the formal five-day meeting of the two leaders in Mont Pelerin was the debate on the territorial map, then this goal was not achieved. Mr Akinci once again reneged on what he agreed with Mr Anastasiades as most of the time was spent discussing other issues,” the party said.
