Interview: Cyprus welcomes end of ‘war games’ with Ankara

Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias told EURACTIV he was “happy” that Ankara accepted his proposal to cancel military exercises that take place annually on both sides of the divided island, sparking recurring tension in the Aegean.

Christofias, who arrived in Brussels yesterday (14 October) ahead of the summit of EU leaders, had just held a fifth round of negotiations with Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat. 

Following the talks, held in a UN-protected buffer zone, Christofias announced the cancellation of a five-day military exercise. Simultaneously, a Turkish Cypriot spokesman announced that Turkish manoeuvres were also being put off. 

“The cancellation of the military exercises was my initiative and my proposal. Because it’s now a time of negotiations, I want a climate around the negotiations [that is] silent, easy and peaceful, without tensions. And of course, I’m happy that Turkey accepted my proposal, and we cancelled both exercises,” Christofias told EURACTIV. 

The president added that by Turkey, he meant Ankara. 

“Let’s not make the whole thing complicated. The troops there [in the northern part of Cyprus] are under the control of Ankara, not of any Turkish Cypriots, of any compatriots. So the decision of Ankara is good, it’s a positive sign,” said Christofias. 

Christofias was careful not to convey an overly optimistic message as to the advance of the talks, which take place under the watch of Alexander Downer, the UN’s special advisor on Cyprus and a former Australian foreign minister. 

At the Monday talks, Christofias said both sides discussed power sharing on the divided island. Cyprus is expected to become a single federal state, he said, with common citizenship for all Cypriots. But the Turkish Cypriot side is pushing for a looser confederation, trying to upgrade the status of the internationally unrecognised ‘Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’. 

Christofias said he had a “special relationship” with Turkish Cyprus leader Mehmet Ali Talat, whom he refers to as “my friend”. Both Christofias and Talat are left-wing leaders and do not profess nationalism. Both were born in Kyrenia, a historic port city in the occupied North. Neither of them hold strong religious views. 

“I say frankly: there are difficulties, different opinions, different visions sometimes. But the negotiations have the target to breach these differences. We shall try, I will do my utmost, to find common language with my friend Mehmed Ali Talat, to breach differences and to come together with decisions and agreements which are going to serve only the Cypriots, and no foreigners,” Christofias said. 

As for the message he wanted the EU to convey, he said the long-standing position of his country was that the international community should advise Turkey to be constructive and to refrain from meddling. 

“This [to press on Turkey to be constructive] is our permanent position not only with the EU, but with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council,” said the Cypriot President. 

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