The bi-zonal problem on Cyprus

A solution to the crisis on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, which has been divided for 34 years, seems just around the corner: this autumn the Greek and Turkish Cypriots plan to conduct direct negotiations aimed at putting an end to the division. The monthly magazine Le Monde Diplomatique points out that the current political crisis in Turkey leaves little room for finding a solution to the Cyprus problem. "Since [2004] the power struggle between the Kemalist camp and the ruling AKP in Turkey has intensified. This leaves the leadership of the Turkish Cypriots in a precarious position. ... By September ... the most fierce opponents of a Cyprus solution may already have won the upper hand. ... An important question ahead of this next and possibly last round of negotiations is whether the Annan Plan ... which two-thirds of the Turkish Cypriots voted for in 2004, is still the basis for discussion. ... Reaching a settlement regarding the important internal issues in Cyprus will only be possible if [the Cypriot President Mehmet Ali] Talat does not commit himself to ... fulfilling the military's maximum demands. [Cypriot Prime Minister Dimitris] Christofias can only agree to the painful concessions that a compromise ... would entail if they benefit the Turkish Cypriots and not the Turkish army." 

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