Can Ankara Recognize The Greek Cypriots?

BY MUSTAFA KARAALIOGLU
YENI SAFAK- Brussels sent a letter to Ankara last week initiating the process of Turkey signing an additional protocol of the Ankara Agreement extending the country’s Customs Union to 10 new European Union members, including the Greek Cypriot administration. Our Foreign Ministry pledged to sign it and must have sent a letter to Brussels by now, expressing its commitment.
The correspondence between Ankara and Brussels is shaping our path towards EU membership. Brussels will translate the final version of the text into all relevant languages and then send it to its commissioners. It will probably take about two months for the text to be ready for Ankara’s signature. The exchange of letters has kicked off this process.
If everything goes as planned, our government will probably sign the protocol in the first weeks of Britain’s term presidency come July. Then our Parliament will have to sign it too. Thus, Turkey does not object to signing the text in its current form. Discussions on Turkey’s probable official stance on the issue are over now. As a matter of fact, we didn’t have much choice anyway – besides signing it.
Concerning the additional protocol, one of the most important problems for Ankara has been Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadapoulos’ recent statements on the issue. The Greek Cypriots were threatening to block Ankara’s accession talks, if it fails to sign the protocol. However, as Turkey has pledged to sign it, now they have to go further. We must expect them to seize on all possible means against Turkey’s membership bid, including April’s Partnership Council meeting.
The problem for the Greek Cypriots is that Turkey denies officially recognizing them without there being a permanent solution on the island. In addition, Ankara will also issue a declaration simultaneously with its signing of the protocol, making sure everybody understands that its official position on the Greek Cypriot issue has not changed.
‘Our signing of the protocol does not mean that we recognize the Greek Cypriot administration,’ the declaration will probably say. ‘Turkey will retain its relations with the Turkish Cypriots and will remain committed to efforts aimed at finding a permanent, comprehensive solution.’
After Ankara declares this, we won’t have to worry about the issue again because nothing that our government could do would ever amount to official recognition. To put it more clearly, without a permanent solution, Turkey will never recognize Greek Cyprus.