Talks have restarted, but neither side expects a breakthrough: That’s how the overall situation in the Cyprus conflict could be summed up at the moment.
Representatives from the two sides have very differing views on a way out of the stalemate. UN Secretary-General now wants to look for a mutually agreed basis on which to restart peace talks.
What is the main issue at stake in the Cyprus conflict?
As is so frequently the case with conflicts, the one in Cyprus also has roots deep in the past.
For decades, the largest demographic group, the Greek Cypriots, voiced the desire to unite with Greece. Many Turkish Cypriots, a group that had settled in Cyprus during the centuries in which the island formed part of the Ottoman Empire, were skeptical about the idea.
In the mid-20th century, the security situation on the island deteriorated. After negotiations between the Cypriots, — the colonial power at the time —, and Greece, Cyprus became independent in 1960. The three other countries became guarantor powers. To this day, Britain operates two military bases on the island that are formally British overseas territories.
In 1963, massacres between the two ethnicities went down in history as “Bloody Christmas.” In the wake of the violence, the sent a peacekeeping force to the island that remains stationed there even today.
In 1974, radical Greek Cypriots staged a coup against the government in a bid to force the union with Greece, which at the time was a dictatorship. and conquered the northern half of the island.
The administration put in place through the coup fell from power in the Republic of Cyprus, but Turkey retained control in the north. That is roughly the territory of the , which unilaterally declared itself independent in 1983 but has not been recognized as a state by the international community, with the exception of Turkey.
The national objective of the Republic of Cyprus is to reunite the island; the political representatives of the Turkish Cypriots, on the other hand, advocate a two-state solution.
Since May 2004, the Republic of Cyprus has been a member of the European Union. Under international law, that goes for the whole island — but the government is still unable to impose EU law in the north even 20 years later.
What peace proposals have been made, and why did they fail?
The UN has had peacekeeping troops stationed in Cyprus for more than 60 years. Partly because of the high costs of the operation, it has always engaged actively as a mediator in the conflict.
In 2004, shortly before southern Cyprus acceded to the EU, a solution seemed to be very close. The UN secretary-general at the time, , had proposed a federation in which both component states retained extensive autonomy but which was to be represented abroad by a joint government. In a referendum, a majority was in favor of the plan in the north, but in the south no-votes predominated.
Since then, negotiations have taken place in various formats under varying conditions. In 2017, Guterres, then fresh to the post of UN secretary-general, had to announce that negotiations in the Swiss municipality of Crans-Montana had collapsed. One point of contention was the demand that some 35,000 Turkish soldiers still stationed there be withdrawn. Turkey and Greece, along with both Cypriot delegations, each placed blame on the other side for the failure of the official negotiations.
What was the point of departure for the present talks?
In 2021, Guterres had already once invited both sides to Geneva for informal talks to see whether a mutual basis for official negotiations could be found. At the time,
Now, Guterres has launched another attempt. The president of the Republic of Cyprus, , and the representative of northern Cyprus, , were joined at the negotiating table by the guarantor powers, Greece, Turkey and Britain.
“The informal meeting will provide an opportunity for a meaningful discussion on the way forward,” a UN spokeswoman said before the meeting in comments carried by the AFP news agency.
Christodoulides said ahead of the talks that the goal was to resume official negotiations. Tatar spoke in favor of deepening cooperation between the two sides — while stressing the independence of the Turkish Cypriots.
As expected, after the “constructive” meeting, Guterres was unable to announce any big breakthrough.
But all the same, another round of talks has been agreed for the end of July.
This article was adapted from German.
The post Cyprus conflict: Will fresh talks bring a resolution? appeared first on Deutsche Welle.
