CYPRUS: A missed deadline by one side put the process into a slide. Michael Jansen reports from Nicosia
The drive to reach agreement on the reunification of divided Cyprus ahead of next week's European Union summit descended yesterday into farce. The slide began when the Turkish Cypriots failed to meet an agreed deadline to submit their response to the UN plan for a political settlement.
Both sides had made a commitment to hand over by 11.30 p.m. on Wednesday their comments and reactions to the 137-page proposal for a bizonal, bicommunal federation, tabled last month by the UN Secretary-General.
The Greek Cypriots met the deadline, expecting that the Turkish Cypriots would do the same.
But the Turkish Cypriot leader, Mr Rauf Denktash, in New York recuperating from heart surgery, did not send his text to UN headquarters for transmission to the UN envoy in Nicosia, Mr Alvaro de Soto.
A faulty fax machine was blamed. However, according to Turkish Cypriot radio, Mr Denktash was still considering his response. Since Mr Annan put forward his plan on November 11th, Mr Denktash has registered objections to proposals on territory, sovereignty and Turkey's role as a guarantor power.
When the Greek Cypriots were informed yesterday that Mr Denktash had not met his commitment, they withdrew their document. Mr de Soto returned it without opening the sealed envelope.
The Greek Cypriots feared that some of their ideas might be leaked, enabling the Turkish Cypriot side to alter its own text, or that the Turks might not submit any response at all. The Greek Cypriots would then have revealed their hand while the Turks would not have done so.
Concern on this front seems to have been misplaced because the Turkish Cypriot daily, Volkan, yesterday published a map and details of the Greek Cypriot text, all too obviously leaked by a senior Greek Cypriot politician. An inquiry has been demanded.
The UN spokesman here, Mr Brian Kelly, said the Turkish side had conveyed its apologies through the UN to the Greek Cypriots and arrangements were being made "for the receipt in appropriate and secure circumstances of the reactions of both sides".
The Turkish Cypriots handed over a document to UN officials in New York yesterday, but Mr de Soto had to receive this text and to verify it was the Turkish side's official response to the UN proposals before formally accepting, for a second time, the Greek Cypriots' comments.
The bizarre situation was complicated by snow in New York and a skeleton staff on duty at UN headquarters there due to the Muslim feast which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. Eventually Mr de Soto assured the Greek Cypriots that he had the Turkish side's response.
Analysts suggest that Mr Denktash is at odds with the new Turkish government, which is eager to reach a settlement in order to promote Turkey's own candidacy for EU membershipand to secure a date for accession talks to begin.