Türkei

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Turkey pushes UN to set timeline for Cyprus talks

Talk of a timeline for Cypriot reunification from the United Nations’ secretary-general would represent an important success in the peace process, according to a Turkish diplomat.

“Mentioning – even indirectly – a timeline for the completion of the talks by [U.N. Secretary-General] Mr. Ban Ki-moon in his to-be-released Goodwill Mission Report on Cyprus would be important progress,” a Turkish diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity told a group of visiting Turkish journalists in New York late Tuesday. “That would oblige the parties to show their political will for the solution process.”

The nearly four-decades-old conflict has witnessed many inter-communal negotiations to end the problem, but Greek Cypriots overwhelmingly rejected the Annan Plan, the last major peace proposal, during a 2004 referendum even though Turkish Cypriots supported the motion.

Ongoing negotiations were restarted in 2008, but it is unclear when the talks will conclude, given their open-ended status.

Turkey and northern Cyprus are pressing the international community to put pressure on Greek Cypriots to speed up the process and complete it before the end of 2010, a critical time for Turkey, as the country’s continuing negotiations for full accession to the European Union will be reviewed by the bloc.

Turkey has yet to open its ports and airports to Greek Cypriot vessels and planes, saying it can only open its ports if a comprehensive solution ending the international isolation of northern Cyprus is also reached. In the pursuit of more compromise from the Turkish side, however, Greek Cypriots have postponed the process while waiting to see the EU’s stance toward Turkey in December.

“The international community has the feeling that Greek Cypriots are not very willing to reach a speedy solution. What we tell the international community is that, instead of focusing on such tactical moves, it would be better for both sides if Greek Cypriots spend more energy finding a breakthrough,” the diplomat said.

It is not certain that Turkey’s call for the introduction of a timeline will be accepted by Ban. Speaking to Turkish journalists, Lynn Pascoe, the U.N. undersecretary-general for political affairs, refrained from saying whether Ban would take such a step in his future report. Deflecting the question, he said reaching a plan that was in the interest of both was most important.

In June, the secretary-general will issue two reports, one on the status of the U.N. peace force and the other on Ban’s goodwill mission. His last goodwill mission report, issued last December, cited progress on the talks but failed to refer to a similar report that was released in 2004 soon after the failure of the Annan Plan.

Ban, meanwhile, is expected to visit Turkey on May 21 to attend a summit about Somalia in Istanbul, where he will also meet with Turkish officials.

Talks to resume May 26

Following the change of the leadership in the northern part of the island, the talks between newly elected President Derviş Eroğlu and Greek Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias are set to begin on May 26. In line with Eroğlu’s commitment to start talks from where they were halted by his predecessor, the two leaders will first handle the chapter on property, one of the six main issues.

“If we could make progress in talks related to the property issues, we believe a general picture could emerge. That would give the parties an opportunity to start a give-and-take process,” the diplomat said.

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