Interview: EU-Turkey dialogue key to Cyprus reunification[fr][de] 

The Permanent Representative of Cyprus to the EU outlined the fresh hopes brought by the election of Demetris Christofias, the new President of Cyprus, in February this year. 

But he cautioned that the new climate of goodwill on the island may not be sufficient: "One of the key factors that might in the end decide the outcome of the whole process is Ankara and the situation in Turkey."

"Most certainly there is a willingness on the part of both leaders to go forward with a solution," the Ambassador said. But he added he was "cautiously optimistic" about the outcome of the talks, because some of the most difficult issues had not yet been discussed and because some of the issues can only be decided by Ankara, and not by the Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat.

The first, he said, is the withdrawal of the 43,000 Turkish troops from the island. The second is whether Ankara will agree to give up its rights on Cyprus, which were decided in 1960, when the island’s independence was established in an agreement between the United Kingdom, Greece and Turkey. Another important element will be the return of lands occupied by the Turkish army, he said. 

After a series of meetings between Christofias and Talat, a historic decision was taken earlier this month to start direct talks for the reunification of Cyprus and the two sides have already agreed on "what the final solution should look like", the diplomat explained. 

He described the process as a transition from a unitarian state to a federal, bizonal and bicommunal state. The talks will be mediated by Alexander Downer, the new United Nations special envoy to Cyprus and former Foreign Minister of Australia (EurActiv 28/07/08). 

As to the role of the EU in the process, the Ambassador stressed the bloc's soft power, underlining that "a positive Turkish contribution towards finding an acceptable solution in Cyprus is an element of evaluation of Turkey’s progress towards joining the EU."

He added that "solving the Cyprus problem will remove a major obstacle that is blocking Turkey’s way towards the EU," reminding that some eight negotiating chapters were currently blocked as a result of Turkey’s refusal to implement the custom’s Union protocol vis-à-vis Cyprus.

On the reunification talks themselves, the diplomat explained that the role of the United Nations will be different from former mediations because, this time, the two Cypriot sides were proactive. The UN will be "a facilitator, not a mediator proposing concrete solutions to specific problems," Emiliou said.

He pointed to the risks involved with the changing political situation in Turkey, in particular the case aimed at banning the ruling AKP party - inspired in his words by "Kemalist elites". "The outcome of that struggle will to a large extent decide the success or failure of the negotiations on the Cyprus problem", the diplomat said. 

To read the interview in full, please click here.