Through The Door Opened By Annan

MILLIYET- Columnist Yasemin Congar writes on recent developments on the Cyprus issue and the US stance on these developments. A summary of her column is as follows:
An American diplomat with whom I was discussing the Cyprus peace process last week ended up surprising me with what he said. I asked him what he thought about recent developments on the issue, and I expected him to say something about the stances of both sides towards UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s new plan. However, he unexpectedly said, ‘We’re satisfied with the Turkish Cypriots’ recent agreement to negotiate on Annan’s proposal. This decision shows that the Turkish Cypriots are today much more determined to reach a settlement. It’s clear that they believe that there is a chance to build a better future for themselves as part of the European Union.’
His remarks referred to the joint declaration issued by a group of Turkish Cypriot nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) on Nov. 22. This declaration underlined that Annan’s plan was a sound basis for future negotiations. The NGOs characterized the UN proposal as a historic opportunity that shouldn’t be missed, since they see it as relatively more successful in dealing with such important issues as sovereignty and constitutional rights than proposals prepared by other figures and bodies in the past. However, such a stance is contradictory to Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas’ recent statement that the UN plan could not be accepted as a basis for future discussions.
Each member of the Bush administration, in fact, believes that Turkey has the key to a permanent settlement on the island. Bush’s team thinks that Turkey could greatly contribute to the Cyprus peace process by encouraging the Turkish Cypriots to hold frank and forthright negotiations with the Greek Cypriots. Disheartened by Denktas’ statements opposing the UN plan, Washington is on the other hand quite satisfied with relatively constructive statements made by our ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Although US diplomatic circles find Turkey’s new Prime Minister Abdullah Gul’s recent Cyprus statements ‘promising,’ they also have certain questions on their minds: Can the AKP really contribute to the Cyprus peace process? Will the Turkish Foreign Ministry and military allow the AKP to change the course of the country’s Cyprus policy, which has been in favor of maintaining the status quo on the island?
Over this last year, US officials have urged every single EU official they met with to set a date for Turkey’s accession negotiations. At the same time, they also tried to encourage Turkey to take more effective steps on the Cyprus issue. Washington believes that Annan’s plan is a great opportunity for Turkey. However, the Americans don’t expect a straight ‘yes’ from the Turkish side to all of the plan’s specific proposals. They just want the Turkish side to adopt a new policy which accepts Annan’s proposals as a basis for negotiations. Which is why they welcomed Turkish Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis’ recent statement that there was no difference of opinion between Turkey and the TRNC on the UN Cyprus plan, which, he believes, is open for future discussions.
In brief, despite the above-mentioned unanswered questions, there is a growing hope within the Bush administration that the AKP government will continue pursuing the course towards a permanent agreement on Cyprus by entering the door opened by Annan.

SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION