Denktash puts Cypriot deal back into
play
Helena Smith in Athens
Tuesday January 13, 2004
The Guardian
Hope of ending the division of Cyprus rose yesterday
when the Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash appeared to soften his
objection to the UN reintegration plan, which he has previously declared
dead.
His shift of position came on the heels of
Sunday's announcement by two Turkish Cypriot parties which favour a
settlement that they will form a coalition government.
Returning from talks in Ankara with the
Turkish prime minister, Tayyip Erdogan, Mr Denktash said the UN plan was
"still on the table," adding: "We will sit and discuss
it."
Turkey was in the process of amending the
proposals to make them more acceptable to Turkish Cypriots, he said.
Ankara is expected to produce a new
position paper on Cyprus, including its amendments to the UN plan, before
Mr Erdogan goes to Washing ton later this month for talks with President
George Bush.
The Republican Turkish party leader Mehmet
Ali Talat, who will be prime minister in the coalition government, said:
"Our government will pursue a target of attaining a solution by May
1."
His junior coalition partner is the
Democrat party led by Mr Denktash's son Serdar.
Unless a settlement is agreed by May 1, the
larger Greek Cyprus will enter the EU leav ing the self-declared Turkish
republic in the north, which is recognised only by Turkey, even more
isolated.
The UN plan envisages a federation of two
largely autonomous states: a far cry from the two-state solution Mr
Denktash, soon to be 80, has pressed for almost 30 years.
Turkey is under international pressure to
break the deadlock. Brussels has warned Ankara repeatedly that its EU
aspirations rest on its willing ness to resolve the conflict.
If Cyprus joins the EU still divided,
Ankara will be in the embarrassing position of occupying part of EU
territory: there have been an estimated 35,000 Turkish soldiers in the
north since 1974.
Mr Denktash enjoys the backing of the
Turkish armed forces, which have long had the last say on what they regard
as their greatest modern success.
But he is thought to have come under
pressure from the reform-minded Mr Erdogan to change his tune .
The daily paper Sabah recently quoted Mr
Erdogan as telling Mr Denktash: "As long as this problem is dragging
on, it is hurting both northern Cyprus and Turkey ... It is a must for us
to reach a solution. And as far as I can see we are moving towards a
solution."
The Cyprus issue is expected to lead the
agenda when Mr Erdogan meets Mr Bush in Washington on January 28.
Analysts hope that with the north's first
pro-settlement government in place the UN can bring the two sides back to
the negotiating table next month, possibly after a referendum on the UN
proposals.
The UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, the
plan's architect, has said he is willing to resuscitate the negotiations
if both sides show a genuine willingness to resolve the dispute.
Although the ailing Mr Denktash will not be
replaced as the Turkish Cypriots' negotiator, senior EU diplomats
described his new stance as "heartening".
"For the first time, it seems, he has
accepted that the vast majority of Turkish Cypriots want a solution ...
that they hold views that are at variance with his own," an EU
ambassador on the island said.
