THE Greek Cypriot side does not rule out a new Geneva-style international conference on Cyprus, but the necessary groundwork for success must first be laid, President Nicos Anastasiades said late on Thursday.
Commenting on a reporter’s observation that UN Special Advisor Espen Barth Eide spoke of the possibility of a new Geneva-style international conference on Cyprus, Anastasiades said:
“We are not ruling out any new Geneva. The question is to go there well-prepared, in order to avoid problems. That is to say, is Turkey ready to discuss guarantees, security and so on?
“Or will we go there merely to create expectations among the public and in the end come back without results or, possibly, reach a deadlock, which would be worse than a well-prepared meeting?”
He added: “What we are seeking is a solution, not a way on how to end the dialogue.”
He was speaking to the media on returning to the presidential palace after his latest meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci.
Responding to another question, the president said the climate at the meeting was positive, although that was not enough.
He and Akinci discussed territory, governance, and what would happen on Day One of the solution.
For his part, Akinci said the talks could not drag on indefinitely, but added that no one wants to the efforts made to go to waste.
The leaders have met 60 times, he noted.
The coming weeks would be crucial, Akinci stressed.
The leaders were holding their third of four scheduled meetings in the current stage of the Cyprus talks, discussing governance and territory.
Lasting nearly four hours, the face-to-face was likely the last where the two leaders got into the nuts and bolts of a settlement, given that their last meeting on May 17 will revolve around reviewing overall progress in the negotiations.
It’s understood that no road map exists beyond that date, although the United Nations hope they can somehow push the process forward with a new conference on Cyprus – assuming the two sides can somehow bridge enough differences to make that happen.
Asked what he anticipated from the May 17 tete-a-tete, Anastasiades said only: “We will review the entire process, the pending issues, how we can move forward.”
Earlier in the day, the UN’s Eide shuttled between the north and south to see Anastasiades and then Akinci.
Speaking at the presidential palace after meeting with Anastasiades, Eide chose his words carefully.
“There has been hard and good work done by the negotiators over the last weeks, there is no secret that there is a difficult environment surrounding the talks, both domestically and internationally, and I call on all parties to do their utmost to reduce any kind of tension that can make the talks more problematic.
“That goes for people here but also people in the neighbourhood,” Eide said.
He added that the suitable environment had to be created to enable the leaders to go that final mile.
The UN envoy said that many of the complications in the Cyprus talks today were to be expected, noting that “it is the nervousness of the last mile.
“It is a big step to make the final decision that this is good enough to present. I don’t think that either leader is there right now. I don’t think any leader, neither Anastasiades nor Akinci, would suggest to hold a referendum on something that they don’t themselves agree with,” he said.
Eide noted the considerable progress achieved for over almost two years, even if there are outstanding issues, and said that no other leaders had presented maps, or there was ever the opportunity to fundamentally change the security regime in Cyprus.
“And to see that go to waste because of an international crisis would be very sad for all of us,” he said.
Although there were no artificial timeframes, Eide noted, any process has its natural momentum.
Speaking to reporters after meeting Akinci, the Norwegian diplomat said the UN chief was urging all parties to intensify their efforts.
“We all need to redouble our efforts and try to make the most of this opportunity, thinking strategically about what a solution would entail.
“This is still possible, but it will take hard work and serious leadership,” he added.
Peace talks broke off back in February when parliament in the south voted to introduce an annual commemoration in public schools of the January 1950 ‘Enosis’ (union with Greece) referendum. The Turkish Cypriot side eventually agreed to resume negotiations.
In April, Turkey reserved parts of the Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone for seismic surveys, and has been conducting military drills within the Nicosia Flight Information Region (FIR).
To conduct any economic activity within the EEZ, Turkey must ask permission from the jurisdictional coastal state (Cyprus), which it has not.
