HURRIYET- Columnist Ferai Tinc comments on the Cyprus peace process. A summary of her column is as follows:
This week will be one of the most crucial periods in Turkey’s history. The Cyprus issue is probably the most important issue set to be discussed this week.
Neither the Turkish nor the Greek side is willing to accept the UN Cyprus plan in its current form as a basis for future negotiations. Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou recently remarked that it would be a grave mistake to make a hasty decision on the issue, and he further criticized the UN for setting an early deadline, thus effectively tying both sides’ hands and leaving a narrow window to discuss UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s Cyprus plan. He also added that the EU should invite Cyprus to join the Union at its Copenhagen summit, which begins this Thursday. Both the Turkish and Greek sides are quite satisfied with each other’s attitudes on the issue. When the EU evaluates both sides’ policies to weigh whether or not they adopted positive, constructive policies to promote the peace process, it will have a hard time pointing fingers, as both parties believe that the deadline set by the UN should be put off to a later time.
When Cyprus is invited to join the EU at the Copenhagen summit, it will then be more difficult for the Turkish side to reach a settlement with the Greek Cypriot administration. Will a Greek Cypriot administration backed by the EU relent to reaching a settlement with the Turkish side through making certain concessions? The likely answer is ‘no.’ What happens if the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) announces that it has accepted the UN Cyprus plan as a basis for further discussions? In that case, the Greek Cypriots will also have to accept the document and a new period of negotiations will begin on the issue.
What if the EU fails to propose a date for Turkey’s accession negotiations? Can Europe solve the Cyprus problem without approving Turkey’s EU membership? These are questions which still await answers.
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION