UN SECRETARY general Ban Ki-moon came, saw the Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders and departed without announcing either a breakthrough or specifics on progress after 17 months of negotiations on the reunification of the island.
Instead, Mr Ban paid tribute to Cyprus president Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat for their “strong commitment and resolve” and expressed his support for the “Cypriot-led and Cypriot-owned” talks.
He read out a joint statement saying that “good conver- gence” had been achieved on some issues, notably governance and powersharing, but which also asserted that “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed”.
The single new factor emerging from the encounter of Mr Ban with the Cypriot leaders is that negotiations will continue for several weeks in spite of the Turkish Cypriot presidential election scheduled for April 18th. Mr Talat made his intention to keep talking clear when he said that “negotiations are not less important than the election”.
He faces a strong challenge from Dervis Eroglu, the current prime minister and head of the right-wing National Unity Party which favours a “two state solution”, a weak confederation of two sovereign states rather than a bi- zonal, bicommunal federation accepted by the Greek Cypriots and the international community.
Negotiations will continue because no one is prepared to say the talks have failed. Although Mr Christofias sent a letter on January 20th to the five permanent members of the security council spelling out the considerable differences between the two sides, he is ready to continue.
Mr Talat has called for intervention by the UN, the US and Britain but, since this is rejected by the Greek Cypriots, does not demand a role for outsiders.
On he eve of Mr Ban’s visit, Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan asserted that Ankara is “unwavering” about the continued existence of the Turkish Cypriot state, recognised only by Turkey. He blamed the EU for the deadlock, due, he said, to the 2004 entry into the EU of the internationally recognised republic.
Determined to remain “guarantor” of any deal, Ankara main- tains a military force of 30,000 troops on the island.
There are an estimated 160,000 mainland Turkish settlers in the north as well as 89,000 Turkish Cypriots.
However, Greek Cypriots reject a “two-state solution”, intervention by external powers, and the presence of Turkish forces and settlers. They want a fully independent, demilitarised federal state with a single citizenship and international personality.
In spite of the opposing visions of a solution, while crossing the dividing Green Line Mr Ban was greeted by Greek and Turkish Cypriot demonstrators calling for reunification. Participants had common slogans and demands and there seemed to be a new spirit of togetherness.