Vincent Morelli
Section Research Manager
Reunification negotiations that had been ongoing since 2008 with frequent and often intense U.N.-hosted talks between former Republic of Cyprus President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leaders, Ali Talat and then Dervis Eroglu had essentially reached a stalemate on the difficult issues of governance, security, property rights, territory, and citizenship (mostly involving mainland Turks who had “settled” in the north) and were suspended in May 2012.
Through the first half of 2013, the negotiations remained suspended as the outgoing Christofias government and the incoming administration of Nicos Anastasiades (elected President of the Republic in February 2013) grappled with serious domestic banking and fiscal crises. Anastasiades, of the Democratic (DISY) party, was immediately confronted with a tough economic and fiscal austerity program proposed by the EU and European Central Bank, designed to help stabilize the Republic’s economy and prevent a collapse of its banking system, as the price for EU assistance. Implementation of the economic recovery program is in progress.
Not long after Anastasiades was inaugurated, the Turkish Cypriot and Turkish leadership began to publically pressure the Anastasiades government to restart the unification talks as soon as possible. In addition to almost daily public statements by Mr. Eroglu urging the talks to resume, Turkish Cypriot officials traveled to New York and Washington to plead their case. This prompted Anastasiades to respond that he would not be forced to the bargaining table during this period of economic turmoil and was committed to first addressing the government’s fiscal crisis.
It appears that the Turkish Cypriot side, in arguing for the restart of the talks after one year, are not proposing any significant compromises or new ideas that would move the talks forward, raising the question of why the rush. However, it has been noted that the Turkish Cypriots have more openly referred to “the realities on the island”, referring to two separate, co-equal states and the need for a timetable for concluding the talks. Ankara for its part had already suggested that while it was ready to say “yes” to a negotiated solution, a “two-state” option was viable if talks could not restart and produce a solution in a timely fashion.
In late May, Anastasiades, who himself had supported the Annan Plan for reunification in 2004, met with Eroglu over a social dinner hosted by the UN but apparently no discussions on when, how, and under what conditions the talks might resume were held. Anastasiades indicated that while he supported the resumption of the talks he restated that serious negotiations could not restart until perhaps October 2013, leaving the Turkish Cypriots in a state of uncertainty.
Two factors could serve to complicate matters further. The first could be the outcome of Turkish Cypriot parliamentary elections in late July 2013 that could challenge Mr. Eroglu’s authority and negotiating strategy. The second is that 2014 will usher in the 40th anniversary of the 1974 deployment of Turkish military forces to the island and the 10th anniversary of the demise of the Annan Plan. These events could present political challenges the Greek Cypriots.
The 113th Congress has already expressed its interest in the Cyprus issue. Legislation (H.Res. 187) has been introduced and letters regarding the unification talks have been sent to the White House and others by Members of Congress sympathetic to both Greek and Turkish Cypriot views of the problem. This report provides a brief overview of the history of the negotiations, a more detailed review of the negotiations since 2008, a description of some of the issues involved in the talks, and where things stand today.
Date of Report: June 25, 2013
Number of Pages: 28
Order Number: R41136
Price: $29.95
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