Hope for a new perspective on the Cyprus issue

By APOSTOLOS TOMARAS and NIKOS STELGIA

The meeting of the President of the Republic Nikos Anastasiadis with the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, lasting 20 minutes, did not seem to change the mindset of the Cypriot view in anticipation of next Monday's meeting with the Turkish leader Ersin Tatar.  One can come to this conclusiondue to the general reports about the content of the meeting of the two men.  In fact, if we take into account the public position of Nikos Anastasiadis that the meeting went well, it seems that the Greek Cypriot side continues to expect no dramatic shifts from Ersin Tatar, which stems from the well-known unacceptable Turkish positions for the resumption of the dialogue.  A feeling that the President of the Republic externalized in New York in the previous days.  In this climate it remains unknown what he will seek and most importantly what the Secretary General can achieve in the informal tripartite. However, after leaving the office of Antonio Guterres, Nikos Anastasiadis took care to compliment  the efforts of the secretary general, saying that the meeting took place in a creative atmosphere during which he presented his views and positions and how he could start a creative dialogue again without prerequisites.

What did he say to the secretary general?

Contrary to what he said in his meeting with foreign media, after the end of the meeting Nikos Anastasiadis was tight-lipped about its content. In general and vaguely, the President of the Republic stated that he had presented to Antonio Guterres, among other things, some ideas and they have agreed that the issues concerning the Cyprus issue will be discussed during the lunch they will have on the 27th of the month with Ersin Tatar.  According to the report from the UN headquarters, Antonio Guterres will also see Ersin Tatar before the scheduled lunch on Monday.

The appointment

The issue as to who will succeed Jane Luth is expected to be discussed at the tripartite lunch. Diplomatic sources do not consider it unlikely that the secretary general will announce his choices to the leaders of the two communities next Monday.  As is well known, Antonio Guterres has to choose between appointing a special envoy approved by the Security Council or a personal envoy.  According to information from New York, the scenario of a special envoy with the involvement of the Security Council seems to be supported by China and Russia.  The selection of a special representative is rejected by the Turkish side in order to avoid the involvement of the Security Council in what it "unacceptably" puts on the table, according to diplomatic sources.

And the Cyprus issue on Erdogan's agenda

The President and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, on the sidelines of the UN, are holding a series of meetings in New York.  The attention of Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Mevlüt Çavuşoλουlu is focused on the crises in Afghanistan, Syria and Libya.

On the above issues, the two men, in their meetings with the representatives of foreign states, try to convey the message that Turkey's resilience in the refugee is exhausted.  Turkey calls for more active international involvement in dealing with the humanitarian crisis in the aforementioned countries.  At the same time, Ankara is trying to project its own positions on the course of developments in Syria and Libya, mainly by providing coverage to the forces cooperating with it and targeting the Kurds of Syria, which it feels is a threat.

In parallel with the aforementioned issues, Mr. Erdogan and Mr. Tsavousoglou in their meetings with foreign politicians and diplomats refer to the Cyprus issue, the issues of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean. On these fronts, the latest information wants the Turkish side to reiterate its well-known positions, especially the importance of a two-state solution and the convergence of an international conference on the Eastern Mediterranean. In matters of the Aegean, Turkey asks the international community to take into account its own positions and sensitivities.

The Turkish side developed the aforementioned positions in New York in the context of Mr. Tsavousoglu's meeting with the UN Secretary General.  Mr. Erdogan also had a separate meeting with Antonio Guterres.  At the same time, the President of Turkey met with representatives of countries such as Germany, Britain, Finland, Croatia, Slovenia, Poland, Ukraine and Georgia.

It is noted that in his speech at the UN General Assembly yesterday, on the Cyprus issue, Mr. Erdogan sent two important messages.  First, for the first time since the UN step, he referred to the solution of the two states. Secondly, he reiterated his proposal for the Eastern Mediterranean Conference.

This article was originally published in Greek on kathimerini.com.cy