Cyprus-Forum.com

[shahmaran]

And as long as Turkey is not in the EU, you will have no chance for a solution.

Considering Turkey currently facing more towards the Arab's than the west (thanks to the AKP), anything is possible now.

[Me Ed]

And as long as Turkey is not in the EU, you will have no chance for a solution.

Considering Turkey currently facing more towards the Arab's than the west (thanks to the AKP), anything is possible now.

Sorry Shahmaran, but it's the other way round.

[AWE]

The question then becomes do the GCs want a Cyprob solution that will allow Turkey in to the EU? After all Anatolia is a short flight away and Cyprus has a large Turkish speaking minority.

[Me Ed]

The question then becomes do the GCs want a Cyprob solution that will allow Turkey in to the EU? After all Anatolia is a short flight away and Cyprus has a large Turkish speaking minority.

If there was a solution, there would then be nothing to stop Turkey getting into the EU if it met all the chapters.

So in that event, the GCs would have very little to do with Turkey's ascention and Turkey will get in under its own merits.

[shahmaran]

And as long as Turkey is not in the EU, you will have no chance for a solution.

Considering Turkey currently facing more towards the Arab's than the west (thanks to the AKP), anything is possible now.

Sorry Shahmaran, but it's the other way round.

The only way you can have any power over Turkey is IF Turkey insists on joining the EU, where you can blackmail her for the entry, or if she is in the EU therefore having to respect another EU members identity by having to follow EU laws.

If you ask me, I would hate to see Turkey in the EU, I think she should just put a hold on all negotioations, and then what will you do?

[Acikgoz]

Tony,
1. this is where RoC as a stalking horse comes into play. Until such time as both France and Germany are on board clearly for Turkey to join, the EU card is worth nothing.
2. Turkey has not and for the forseeable future will not trade the demands of the majority of TCs, by leaving Cyprus without a structure the TCs can work within, in exchange for EU aspirations - however, in exchange for EU certainty that is a different matter. RoC will not be able to pull that rabbit from that hat now.
The gaining momentum of the opposition party is more protectionist of that he TRNC if that is a clue.


Bana - you see the wood for the trees. The longer you leave it the more intractable it will become. Note the following article today in Zaman - basically mouthpiece of AKP:

AKP government plans to change its Cyprus policy

Since 2004 the Justice and Development Party (AKP) has adopted a new policy to promote the peace and unity of Cyprus. For that matter the AKP supported the referendum in 2004, but unity was rejected by the Greek Cypriots with a “no” vote. Prior to the referendum, the European Union promised the Turkish side an end to the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots if the Greek Cypriots voted no and became an obstacle to unity.

Since then, the EU has not kept its promise to end the isolation of Turkish Cyprus but still requests that Turkey open its ports to Greek Cyprus and recognize it as an EU country. Furthermore, Greek Cyprus has been blocking chapters that would bring Turkey closer to the EU.

Turkish leaders are frustrated with the attitude adopted by the EU and Greek Cyprus. Thus, they are seriously reconsidering their position and thinking about changing their current policies. The first signal came from Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. In a statement made in May, Davutoglu underlined that Turkey would open all of its ports to Greek Cyprus if the world and the EU opened two ports and an airport to Turkish Cyprus. It was clear that Turkey was using this position as a bargaining chip, yet neither Greek Cyprus nor the EU agreed to Davutoglu’s suggestion.

Now reliable sources are saying the AKP government is reconsidering its position and thinking about altering it by the end of September or the beginning of October. Sources close to Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Çiçek confirm that Turkey is preparing to launch a new diplomatic initiative towards the international recognition of Turkish Cyprus. The reason the AKP may be planning to alter its policy is because of their frustration with the EU. Çiçek, on more than one occasion, has himself mentioned that they are seriously considering launching such an initiative. When I asked Hüseyin Çelik, AK Party deputy chairman, about such a possibility, he neither denied nor confirmed anything. Instead, he stated, “Turkey will not be the one leaving the negotiating table; yet, it appears that things cannot go on like this forever.” By this statement Mr. Çelik referred to the deadlock and signaled a possible change.

Furthermore, Çelik referred to what Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had said during the fourth traditional iftar (fast-breaking) dinner at his party’s headquarters in the Turkish capital on Thursday organized by AK Party Deputy Chairman Ömer Çelik. Numerous ministers, representatives of the media, foreign envoys to Turkey -- except for Israeli Ambassador Gaby Levy -- and religious leaders of different faiths attended the dinner. During the gathering, Erdogan urged the EU to adopt a constructive and determined approach to solving the Cyprus issue. “We want a just and lasting solution to the Cyprus issue by year’s end,” he said. “Efforts to solve it can’t continue forever.”

On a separate occasion, Turkey’s chief European Union negotiator, Egemen Bagis, reiterated the Turkish call for the EU to stay loyal to its commitments. “We are expecting the European Union to meet its obligations. The joint drive of Turkey and the EU for a common future is a mutual promise based on agreements, conventions and anonymously voted EU resolutions,” Bagis said in a letter he sent to British daily The Times. He also said Turkey as a country had been taking steps to normalize its relations with Armenia and that it had extended support to ongoing settlement talks in Cyprus.

Foreign observers say it would be a grave mistake for Turkey to adopt such policy and that it would backfire. Yet Turkish diplomatic sources seem to think Turkey will be left no option if the Greek Cypriots continue to block Turkey’s path to the EU. Diplomatic circles in Ankara believe that while Turkey is promoting negotiations, it must also continue to prepare the groundwork for possible diplomatic recognition of Turkish Cyprus. The purpose of this strategy would be to put pressure on the Greek side to come to a reasonable agreement. As a first step, it would be enough to promote allowing the Turkish side to have recognized “observer” status in international organizations.

Sources told me that depending on the negotiation situation the AKP leadership is planning a new approach that will make the traditionalist leader of Turkish Cyprus, Dervis Eroglu, very happy.

17 August 2010

[Me Ed]

And as long as Turkey is not in the EU, you will have no chance for a solution.

Considering Turkey currently facing more towards the Arab's than the west (thanks to the AKP), anything is possible now.

Sorry Shahmaran, but it's the other way round.

The only way you can have any power over Turkey is IF Turkey insists on joining the EU, where you can blackmail her for the entry, or if she is in the EU therefore having to respect another EU members identity by having to follow EU laws.

If you ask me, I would hate to see Turkey in the EU, I think she should just put a hold on all negotioations, and then what will you do?

No one is blackmailing Turkey.

If Turkey wants to join the EU, then Turkey must meet all of the chapters set by the EU.

If there are any barriers stopping Turkey joining EU then it is up to Turkey to address and resolve them in a sensible and pragmatic way.

If addressing some of these barriers is unpallitable to Turkey, then yes, Turkey should halt negotiations.

Where will this leave free Cypriots? When looking at the current situation, it will make absolutley no difference to the RoC, but will be TCs that will be affected most by Turkey's policy towards the north.

[Get Real!]

The only way you can have any power over Turkey is IF Turkey insists on joining the EU, ....

Or if Turkey continues down the path of irritating snotty Israel giving the Jews “no choice” but to ask mommy US to bomb Turkey back to stone age!

[Tony-4497]

The question then becomes do the GCs want a Cyprob solution that will allow Turkey in to the EU? After all Anatolia is a short flight away and Cyprus has a large Turkish speaking minority.

I think it is clear that any solution will be providing for Cyprus's consent to Turkey's entry. This is after all the only incentive for Turkey.

That said, safeguards have already been used within the EU to ensure that very small populations, like Cyprus, are protected from a fundamental composition change due to free movement. It is pretty clear that any solution will include provisions ensuring that GCs remain a majority in the south and TCs a majority in the north.

[shahmaran]

The only way you can have any power over Turkey is IF Turkey insists on joining the EU, ....

Or if Turkey continues down the path of irritating snotty Israel giving the Jews “no choice” but to ask mommy US to bomb Turkey back to stone age!

No one can bomb a Nato member, specially not the little Israelis.