The only way to comprehensively address Turkey’s provocative actions is to sit down again at the negotiating table

Sunday 2 August 2020, ‘Haravgi” newspaper

Interview with Toumazos Tsielepis, Head of the Cyprus Problem Bureau of the C.C. of AKEL, International law expert, member of the Political Bureau of the C.C. of AKEL

• “If we now propose the acquisition of deterrent powers and I don’t know what else, we are deluding ourselves and have probably not learned anything from similar tactics that were used in the past. We will only succeed in further increasing the tension with the definitive partition of Cyprus as the final result”
• “The only way to comprehensively address Turkey’s provocative actions is to sit down again at the negotiating table, continuing from where we had remained at Crans Montana”

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Three years have passed since the collapse of the Crans Montana conference on Cyprus and Turkey’s provocative actions are intensifying against both Cyprus and Greece. Do you still believe that Turkey’s provocations can be addressed comprehensively with a solution to the Cyprus problem?

TT: Of course we still believe it. After all, everything is judged by the end result. The situation today would be very different had the effort at the Crans Montana conference not collapsed. A simple comparison of the situation that existed back then with what is happening today proves it. It is generally admitted that at Crans Montana we had come very close to agreeing on all six points of the Guterres Framework and if we had reached a conclusion on the six core issues, we would have had the strategic understanding that the UN Secretary General was asking for. In essence, the overall settlement of the Cyprus problem would have been a matter of time.

Today, what is described in your question is actually happening and the UN Secretary General outlines it in dramatic tones in the Report he submitted, to point out that the status quo is neither unchanged, nor sustainable. The only way to comprehensively address Turkey’s provocative actions is to sit down again at the negotiating table, continuing from where we had remained (at Crans Montana). If we do so and Turkey does not cooperate, then it will be Turkey itself who will have the problem and for sure the Reports of the UN Secretary General in the future will be very different from today’s report.

Cyprus and Greece are playing the card of pushing for painful sanctions against Turkey, but it appears that Turkey’s and of the EU itself is the waging of a Greek-Turkish dialogue…What’s your opinion about a possible “packaging” of the Cyprus problem with issues concerning the delimitation of the continental shelf  and sharing of hydrocarbon?

TT: I’m not at all sure that sanctions on 2-3 individuals and another 2-3 legal persons are costly for Turkey. It is obvious that the European Union is not prepared to impose sanctions on Turkey that would have real costs and the reasons for that are evident. Consequently, we are deluding ourselves if we place all our hopes on such policies.

Of course, the Cyprus problem and the delimitation of the Exclusive Economic Zone with Turkey do not go together as a package. After all, there is no way whatsoever that Turkey would discuss delimitation without a solution to the Cyprus problem. However, Turkey states it will be ready to do so after a solution and I hope Turkey means what it says. As far as the sharing of revenues (from hydrocarbons) with the Turkish Cypriots is concerned, let me remind you that the convergences recorded on the maritime zones essentially resolve this issue simultaneously with the solution of the Cyprus problem.

When the President of the Republic states that “the policy of appeasement is not going to bring the desired results in relation to Turkey”, does this mean an admission of failure on his part to convince the international community and his “friends” to impose severe sanctions on Turkey?

TT: I do not know if this means such an acceptance, but it certainly means that the President comprehend better the powerful messages contained in the last Report submitted by the UN Secretary General and in the Security Council resolution, which insist that the desired results can only be achieved at the negotiating table, with the acceptance in practice of the Guterres Framework and the convergences recorded, as well as the continuation of the procedure from where it had remained at Crans Montana. If we now propose the acquisition of deterrent powers and I don’t know what else, we are deluding ourselves and have probably not learned anything from similar tactics that were used in the past. We will only succeed in further increasing the tension with the definitive partition of Cyprus as the final result.

If Turkey and Greece find a way and agree on the delimitation of maritime zones, will this help the solution of the Cyprus problem?

TT: These are two separate issues, but resolving one would certainly help the solution of the other. Obviously, the de-escalation of tension between Greece and Turkey creates more favorable conditions for the resumption of dialogue on the Cyprus problem.

The principle with regards the delimitation of the EEZ between Greece and Turkey that the only realistic way to resolve the dispute is through dialogue also applies here too and if this does not lead to the desired result within a reasonable period of time, appeal to The Hague. This had been agreed since 1999, with a time horizon of early 2004 and if they had not yet reached a conclusion by then, they would jointly appeal to the International Court of Justice. I do not understand the reasons why all of this remained on paper.

If the “elections” in the occupied territories do not lead to a leader who wants a solution of bi-zonal, bi-communal federation, then are you afraid that partition will be looming?

TT: Definitely, yes. Three years have literally been wasted with Akinci at the helm of the Turkish Cypriot community and we are now dependent on the voting process in October (for the new leader of the TC community). If one of the two candidates who is seeking a solution of bi-zonal, bi-communal federation is elected and if President Anastasiades changes direction/policy, then we can reasonably have hope. If not, I’m afraid partition will be close at hand.