By Bayram Altug
MONT PELERIN, Switzerland
Further UN-brokered talks on the reunification of long-divided Cyprus began Wednesday five days after the previous talks, which deadlocked amid mutual finger-pointing over who was to blame.
The international conference in Mont Pelerin, Switzerland, attended by experts and technical delegations from Turkish and Greek Cyprus as well as guarantor countries Turkey, Greece, and Britain, is tackling issues such as security and guarantees to bring peace to the Mediterranean island.
The dubbed the “five-party conference,” will last no more than three days, according to a consensus reached during earlier Geneva negotiations.
After the five-party talks in Mont Pelerin, the sides are expected to meet at the foreign ministry level at the end of this month or the beginning of February and finalize the process.
If a consensus is reached at the five-party conference attended by ministers, prime ministers will be invited to the talks and the process will be moved to a higher level. If reconciliation is not achieved, the UN-brokered talks, which began in May 2015, are expected to end.
Although the latest negotiations – which gained momentum when Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Mustafa Akinci took office in 2015 – are considered the closest the island has gotten to a solution up to now, there are deep disagreements on issues such as security, guarantees, property, and land.
Cavusoglu: This cannot go on forever
Turkey expects the negotiations to conclude with a concrete agenda, the process to continue clearly, and the ministers to meet immediately after Mont Pelerin conference.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said during the Geneva talks that a schedule needs to be set for a solution.
“This cannot go like this forever,” he said. “For this reason, beginning on Jan. 18 the ministers should meet as soon as possible.”
The Turkish and TRNC delegations are expected to stand firm on issues such as the presence of Turkish troops on the island plus Turkey’s status as guarantor during the conference, which will focus on security and guarantee issues, including the economy, the European Union, property, land, and administration-power sharing.
Fourth meeting in 3 months
A delegation chaired by Turkish Foreign Ministry’s Vice-Undersecretary Ahmet Muhtar Gun represented Turkey at the five-party conference. Another delegation chaired by negotiator Ozdil Nami, who will be in contact with President during the talks, represents Turkish Cypriots.
Negotiator Andreas Mavroyiannis chaired a four-member Greek Cypriot delegation.
The talks to bring peace to the long-divided island began last November.
In the first round of the negotiations in Mont Pelerin, Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades said that time is needed for a solution. In the second round of the talks, the Greek Cypriots left the table.
On Dec. 1, the two leaders met at the initiative of Special UN Cyprus Envoy Espen Barth Eide and decided to continue negotiations and hold an international conference on Cyprus in January.
Following negotiations on Jan. 9-11 in Geneva, the five-party conference was held on Jan. 12 with the participation of both sides on Cyprus as well as the guarantors. The conference was paused until Jan. 18 at Greece’s request.
Akinci calls map ‘unacceptable’
On Jan. 11, the last day of negotiations in Geneva, the Turkish and Greek Cypriots exchanged maps of proposed territorial boundaries and the documents were sealed in a UN vault.
At a press conference in Geneva, Akinci called the map submitted by the Greek Cypriots “unacceptable”.
“You cannot find one Turkish Cypriot who will accept this map,” added.
also said that he would not sign any agreement which fails to include a rotating presidency.
“I have been talking about a rotating presidency for a long time, this is a must for Turkish Cypriots in terms of political equality,” he said.
Reunification talks resumed last May and both sides have repeatedly expressed optimism that a solution can be found.
Once a final agreement is reached, it would be put to both Cypriot communities in a referendum.
Akinci has said a reunification vote could be held in mid-2017 pending agreement in Geneva.
