Hidden snares for Cyprus

It is wiser to live without a solution than to live with a bad solution, writes Andreas C. Chrysafis.

There are dark clouds looming on the horizon over the island of Cyprus. A clandestine “Cyprus Solution” is under deliberation between Turkey, the EU, Mitsotakis and Chrystodoulides whose popularity in twenty months plummeted to its lowest level than any other elected president before!

In fact, Cypriots have no idea what kind a solution the Chrystodoulides government is planning to negotiate on their behalf; they were never asked or being told for they are being kept in the dark! That’s the same formula used in the 1959 London/Zurich Agreement by the same three players—Greece, Turkey and the UK to ethnically divide the island. Under the proposed apartheid-style Bi-Zonal, Bi-Communal Federation–if successful—the island would probably be divided into two sectors; the Turkish and the Greek side!

The discovery of masses of natural gas deposits within the Exclusive Economic Zone of Cyprus—a stretch of more than 100,000 square km—adds to the quandary facing the nation and the steaming black cauldrons of deceit have never been hotter. Many global players are lining up to join the tasting feast of the poisoned brew! Meanwhile, after fifteen years of its discovery, Cypriots have not benefited from a single drop and the exploration fiasco has the stench of corruption and squandering of millions of the taxpayers’ money.

Cyprus today, its going through another critical phase in its history and is about to become a guinea pig again—like the 2013 Troika/EU/IMF Bail-in criminality—when the government shut all the banks and emptied peoples’ bank accounts. Never before had such a robbery had taken place to save a corrupt banking system; only in Cyprus!

In the absence of a strong leadership the current Europhile government—dictated by foreign influences—has proven to be a trusted partner of the status quo. A recent survey shows that 78% of Cypriots don’t’ believe that the President has what it takes to govern the country and don’t’ trust the way he is handling the Cyprus issue. He has certainly been busy participating in conferences that so far did not bring constructive results except for shallow promises.

Informal dinner

To set the political stage in the right mood and possibly restart the failed negotiations, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres initiated a meeting in New York by inviting the “two community leaders” on October 15th for informal discussions under an “informal dinner” so the three parties can have a good tête-à-tête. Mr Chrystodoulides gladly accepted the invitation and overlooked the Turkish Cypriot leader’s obstinate political ambitions for a “two-state solution”.

With the dinner over, President Chrystodoulides expressed satisfaction over the outcome of the “informal dinner” held between the Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar and the UN Secretary-General.

The introduction of the word “informal”—instead of “official”— will now be used for future UN or EU-sponsored negotiations in reference to the Cyprus problem. The word “informal” certainly secretes a stench of artfulness and one that officially disregards citing the unanimously adopted UN Security Council Resolutions during any discussions on the Cyprus issue. The introduction of “informal negotiations” certainly poses a barrage of political traps for Cyprus.

It is quite obvious that Ankara and Athens had been planning this cunning political manoeuvre behind the scenes requesting for such a UN “informal meeting” as a way to resolve their own territorial disputes in the Aegean Sea. The signs are evident that Cyprus has become the prized pawn once again so Big Powers can pursue and protect their own geopolitical interests in the region.

Ironically, the Council of EU Foreign Ministers on August 29, held a similar “informal meeting” and the Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was invited—although Turkey is not a EU member-state—to participate in the foreign ministers’ conference. This was a gesture of goodwill to pave the way forward for EU-Turkish relations but also to convince Cyprus not to use its Veto and block Turkey’s application; Cyprus complied!

It is quite startling that President Chrystodoulides did not object to Fidan’s presence at the “informal meeting” knowingly that the Turkish foreign minister refuses to recognize the Republic of Cyprus! Instead, the President cowered to EU/Greece pressure by welcoming the Turkish foreign minister’s involvement at such an important meeting. The explanation given by Josep Borrell the EU Foreign Minister in change was a flippant one by citing that the conference was an “informal meeting” and not official!

Meanwhile, the “informal dinner” in New York between the three parties has now set a new precedence in the diplomatic world. Non-binding covenants can be agreed behind closed doors under the terms of “informal pseudo-meetings” without democratic accountability. The Cyprus President welcome the “informal dinner” as a positive move on resolving the Cyprus issue and expressed his willingness to attend more of the same!

The UN Secretary-General hosting the dinner played a critical role on establishing this new political trickery. He has taken the opportunity on branding the Cyprus Republic as “a community” rather than a recognized United Nations member state. Guterres’ remarks after dinner could not be clearer by saying that: “despite the direct involvement of his special envoy Maria Angela Holguin the two communities are far apart and no common ground had been found. More “informal meetings” will be scheduled in the future,” he announced.

The aftermath

At the same time, one wonders why the President is so adamant to continue the charade; a charade that displays the hallmarks of disappointment. The President in fact during the “informal dinner” had agreed to discuss the opening of two more crossings to accommodate the Turkish Cypriot demands. Yet, the Turkish army—for years—refuses to allow the openings of Kokkina enclave and Astromeritis crossings to benefit the Greeks.

Experience shows that the more concessions are given to a Bully the more it demands and Cyprus finds itself in the middle of this farce. Meanwhile, the Republic continues to offer a string of “trophies” to Turkey and Turkish Cypriots as a gesture of confidence building and goodwill but that’s never enough; the stalemate for a solution continues forever it seems!

In fact, the Turkish Cypriot leader obstinately refused to take part in the proposed three-party UN dinner arrangement but could not oppose Ankara’s instructions. Reluctantly, he and his entourage went to the “informal dinner” as a gesture of good intentions and no more!

In New York, Mr Tatar was not a happy man but an angry one at that! He made ridiculous demands as a precondition for future talks on the Cyprus issue. His nonsensical requests did not surprise anyone but exposed that this man had no intentions of negotiating in good faith but rather grabbed the political opportunity to enhance his inglorious leadership and reiterate Ankara’s position on the invasion and occupation of Cyprus.

It has been reported that at the dinner, Mr Tatar called Turkey’s President “our President” of the Turkish Cypriots; did not want to do anything with the UN special envoy Maria Angela Holguin; objected to a possible five-party “informal meeting”—Cyprus, UK, Turkey, Greece and the Turkish Cypriot community; opposed UK’s participation in multilateral discussions; demanded additional openings across the dividing line; insisted on sovereignty and equal status for his illegal Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC); called for the UN Security Council Resolutions on Cyprus to be scrapped; will not negotiate anything except for a two-state-solution; like Sultan Erdogan, he refuses to recognize the Republic of Cyprus; he commands a halt to international arrests and warrants of business people involved in the usurpation and resale of Greek Cypriot properties in the north; demands that the Greeks put an end to court actions and prosecutions against “innocent developers” for building on Greek land without their approval; he also warned that if the TRNC sovereign equality and international status is not confirmed he would not attend future negotiations!

There is an overwhelming public opinion that after 50 years without the reunification of Cyprus, the time has come for the Republic to get out of the box and reconsider stopping future negotiations until a better climate develops. It would certainly not happen while Mr Ersin Tatar or his kind support Sultan Erdogan’s ambitions for a two-state solution and Muslim control of the entire island!

The barrage of traps against Cyprus have been tolerated by weakly governments for years but the sudden invitation of President Chrystodoulides by the United States President Joe Biden on October 30th at the White House, could be one of those developments that could permanently transform the geopolitical situation in Cyprus.

Will those changes actually benefit Cyprus or would they simply ensnare the country into a deeper maze of entrapment and possibly become a war target! The truth is not out yet but the unprecedented invitation it’s considered by the political parties in Cyprus as a positive move in the right direction that could also deter Turkey’s future appetite for more!

It is quite ironic that the outgoing US President found it necessary to call for such an “official meeting” a few days before leaving the Oval Office; was the meeting genuine or simply an election ploy by the Democrats to influence the Greek vote in America?

Yet, the most important issue facing the Republic seems to have taken a back seat: Turkey’s 1974 military invasion and occupation of Cyprus! Not a single word about the removal of the Turkish troops from the island or the return of the 200.000 refugees back to their ancestral homes!

Andreas C. Chrysafis was born of Greek parents in Cyprus and hosts a Cypriot, British and Canadian citizenship. He has lived most of his life in the UK, Canada and Cyprus. He’s a published author of five books and a recognized artist while his thought-provoking articles (more than 450) continue to be read globally. He is not politically affiliated but a strong advocate of the rule of law, democracy, transparency, equality and human rights but also a robust opponent of corruption.

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