It is almost 44 years since the Mediterranean island of Cyprus was divided, following an invasion by Turkish military forces, dividing the nation into Cypriot and Turkish enclaves separated by a United Nations force of observers. Now, reunification of the nation seems tantalisingly close, with Ankara’s demand for the permanent stationing of Turkish forces on the island as a final hurdle.
For the past three months, a series of negotiations in Geneva and brokered by the United Nations have had leaders from both sides of the island divide agree to general terms for a future confederation structure, resolve financial issues and come to terms over the thorny issue of property rights and land transfers. Talks were suspended for a week on Thursday. The suspension followed the participation of the foreign ministers from Greece and Turkey, and of Boris Johnson, the United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary. Britain has a place at the table as the former colonial power there and it still maintains military bases on the Greek-Cypriot side.
The new UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, was also at the talks, and should a permanent deal on the intractable Cypriot division be reached, it will provide him with a significant coup despite only taking office on January 1.
The progress that has been made thus far needs to prevail and the impetus in reunification must be maintained. Ankara, however, is insisting that its forces have a permanent base on the northern portion of the island. Having landed its paratroopers there in 1974 to precipitate the division, the prospect now of having Turkish forces there permanently is difficult for Greek-Cypriots to envision.
Ankara says the force is needed to ensure the long-term protection of the Turkish minority.
The demand, however, seems excessive, in that both Turkish and Greek-Cypriots believe that reunification can be achieved and that enough time has passed to heal old divisions.
The way forward seems to be for a third-party broker to provide security and protection assurances. Britain has offered to cut the size of its bases there. The European Union — of which Cyprus is a member and Turkey is aspiring to join the bloc as quickly as possible — should be able to provide a way forward. The UN already has observers on the island. And with both Greece and Turkey as long-standing members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, the Brussels-based alliance may also provide a way forward. Simply put, a Cyprus deal can be reached if all parties are willing to move just a little.
