There is one very good reason why it is in the interests of the GC side to delay negotiations as late as possible and that is the imminent elections in the US to elect the new President. This may have a big effect on US policy on Cyprus. If Obama wins, he may change policy quite drastically - some of his closest aides come from the Greek and Cypriot American communities.
The other reason is that 2009 is a year where it is make or break for Turkish EU accession. As the deadline looms, the pressure on Turkey to make concessions will increase.
For those people that think Turkey can stand firm - the Turkish economy has taken a nosedive. Foreign investment (70% of the Istanbul stock market if foreign owned) is being pulled out from the country. Instability in Turkey is increasing and nobody knows what the result will be.
basically, it is a very BAD time to be negotiating the solution of the Cyprus problem. We are going to be in for a rogh ride over the next few months.