It has become clear even for the Greek Cypriot side that the days of pretending to negotiate a federal solution but not moving an inch on any outstanding issue have come to an end. The latest report by the United Nations Secretary-General to the U.N. Security Council has underlined this as well. Turkey has been stressing it right from the first day after the latest collapse of the Crans-Montana round of talks.
The Greek Cypriot side starting to consider prospects other than federation for a resolution on the island is a promising sign. If federation is a term that requires the sharing of political authority, resources and the territory between two or more partners and if the Greek Cypriot side has no intention of undertaking any such move regarding power and resources-sharing particularly, it ought to be obvious to anyone that talking about federation can only be a waste of time. Indeed, more than half a century is lost in such futile efforts since the 1968 start of Cyprus talks at a Beirut hotel.
Anxiety is brewing regarding the prospect of a Cyprus resolution. Why? Has there been any change regarding the fundamental positions of the two antagonists of the island?
For the first time ever the conservative flank of Greek Cypriot politics started to publicly discuss the prospect of resolving the more than half-a-century-old Cyprus problem in a loose federation or even confederation of “two regions.” They are still shy of talking about a loose federation or confederation of Turkish and Greek Cypriot states and still beating around the bush with the “two regions” terminology. But still, this marked a positive move toward acknowledging the reality and thus opening a promising chapter for a resolution on the island.
It appears that an unprecedented diplomatic crisis is brewing between Turkey and Saudi Arabia. If allegations that Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed inside his country’s consulate in Istanbul are true, can we assume that the Saudi executives in Istanbul and Ankara as well as those in the kingdom or those in Riyadh were unaware of probable consequences of such a cold-blooded, blatant act?
An enforced verdict of life imprisonment is no joke. After Turkey gave up the death penalty, the most primitive of all revanchist penalties, the Turkish legislature introduced the enforced life term as a substitute to capital punishment. That is, it is a substitute for the death penalty.
Cyprus diplomacy in New York produced nothing different than expected: A reaffirmation that there is neither a base nor political intention at the Greek Cypriot leadership for a compromise federal resolution of the Cyprus problem within the U.N. parameters of political equality, bi-zonality and bi-communality.
It is often stressed that Europe needs Turkey at least as much as Turkey needs Europe. Developments repeatedly underline the validity of such an assertion. Yet, the Turkey that Europe needs and what Turkey is might be different. Similarly, the Europe Turkey needs might not be what Europe is indeed.
Political parties establishing alliances have proven to be a very effective tool, not for staying in power, but more so for consolidating an established power base.
