Vol. 8 Issue 7 - Public International Law & Policy Group

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In December 2006, the European Union froze eight of the 35 policy chapters that nations must negotiate to join the bloc because of Ankara's failure to open its ports and airports to Cypriot ships and planes. Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey seized its northern third in response to an Athens-engineered Greek Cypriot coup aimed at uniting the Mediterranean island with Greece. Ankara refuses to endorse the island's internationally-recognized Greek Cypriot government and instead recognizes the breakaway Turkish Cypriot statelet in the north. The division has remained a major obstacle to Turkish membership of the European Union, which Cyprus joined in 2004. Turkey's EU accession talks are expected to last a decade with no guarantee that the mainly Muslim but secular country will ever be allowed to join at the end of it all. Cyprus talks can succeed Agence France Presse, 2/16/09 United Nations special envoy Alexander Downer said on Monday that peace talks to reunify the divided island have every chance of success because of the determination of the two leaders to forge a solution. Cyprus President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat have been engaged in direct negotiations since last September with few signs of tangible progress. But former Australian foreign minister Downer, speaking to reporters, was upbeat about the negotiations process. "There has never been a moment's hesitation in terms of the commitment of the two leaders in Cyprus to succeed in the process of direct negotiations," Downer said after meeting Christofias. "If you have leaders determined to succeed, they can succeed. That's what we in the UN want and that's what is happening, so I think that's good." If the leaders are given the "time and space" to negotiate complex issues there would be a positive outcome, he added, although declining to give an indication of when this could be. Downer said the international community was still very engaged in the process despite the long grind. "There is so much support for the leaders coming not just from the UN but more generally from the EU of course, from major powers like Russia, the US, Britain and China and France. It's very encouraging."
EU enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn said on Friday the talks provided a "unique chance this year to reunite Cyprus and bring to an end this long standing conflict on European soil." He added: "This chance must be taken and not missed." The EU, Rehn added, would offer legal and technical advice to broker a deal for Cyprus and for the "sake of Europe." The lack of a Cyprus settlement is also harming Turkey's bid to join the 27-member bloc. A UN reunification blueprint was approved by Turkish Cypriots but rejected overwhelmingly by Greek Cypriots in 2004 just a week before the island joined the European Union, leaving only Greek Cypriots enjoying the benefits of EU membership. Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey occupied the island's northern third in response to an Athens-engineered Greek Cypriot coup seeking union with Greece. The next round of negotiations will resume Thursday under Downer's stewardship. US senator offers help in Cyprus peace talks Menelaos Hadjicostis, Associated Press, 2/17/09 A U.S. senator made an unofficial offer Tuesday to help the leaders of Cyprus' rival communities in peace talks to reunify the divided island. Sen. Richard Durbin said he has offered assistance to President Dimitris Christofias, a Greek Cypriot, and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat. He did not elaborate. "We don't have a specific offer. I mean, what we said was we're available to help. And again, it is for both sides to decide what that help might be," the Illinois Democrat told The Associated Press after talks with Christofias. Durbin, who will travel on to Greece and Turkey this week, said his three-day Cyprus visit is not as an official representative of President Barack Obama. But he added he will convey to both the U.S. president and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton the message that the peace talks are "an opportunity in history that we shouldn't miss." "We should do everything we can if we're asked or called on to make this work," he said. Cyprus was split into a breakaway Turkish Cypriot north and an internationally-recognized Greek Cypriot south in 1974 when Turkey invaded in response to a coup by supporters of union with Greece.
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