Crunch time for Cyprus By @EsraAygin
By Ezra Aygin The technical aspect of negotiations aimed at reuniting the divided island within 2016 is almost finalised, with the process soon becoming purely political. The political course will require the two leaders, Nicos Anastasiades and Mustafa Akinci to display political will and courage to take decisions on some of the most difficult issues.…
.@AnastasiadesCY: No new bailout to fund peace deal
Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said on Thursday he did not expect Cyprus would need a new international bailout in the event of a peace agreement which would reunify the island, split by a war in 1974. Speaking at a news conference in the Cypriot capital Nicosia, Anastasiades said the potential benefits of a Cyprus settlement…
Trade-offs on the horizon
Greek and Turkish Cypriot negotiating teams seem to agree that peace talks have reached the stage where major political decisions need to be taken in order to reach the end game. Senior diplomatic sources told the Cyprus Weekly that negotiators consider feasible a move toward a final give-and-take session. “People are nervous, a decisive trade-off…
Teachers work for peace and reconciliation through educational programmes
The need to have an educational system which promotes peace and reconciliation rather than perpertuating violence ans war is the focus of a programme entitled “Education for a Culture of Peace”. In a joint interview with the CNA, Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot participants to the programme Loizos Loukaides and Süleyman Gelener point out that,…
Cyprus peace talks not ‘stuck’ on property issue
UN-brokered Cyprus peace talks aiming to reunite the divided island are not stuck on the thorny issue of property, government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said on Friday. Talking to state radio, Christodoulides also said: “We are not stuck on the property issue. It is a difficult issue, one that touches many other aspects of the Cyprus…
Greek Cypriot teachers visited schools in the north & planted olive trees as a sign of peace
Around 60 Greek Cypriot teachers have crossed over to the occupied-area of Nicosia to visit Turkish Cypriot schools, conveying messages of peace, friendship and cooperation. As a symbolic gesture of peace between the two communities the Greek Cypriot teachers, who were accompanied on their visit by Turkish Cypriot teachers, gave olive trees to be planted…
3+1 future scenarios for Cyprus
By Michalis S Michael Since the collapse of the Annan Plan in 2008 – the contention being that its finality was rendered during Demetris Christofias presidency– we are able to visualise, more clearly, the contradictory trajectory of Cyprus’s peace talks. By using the Burkean dictum that ‘those who ignore the past are condemned to repeat…
In Cyprus, a renewed push toward peace raises new questions
The US has said a peace deal between the Greek and Turkish communities in Cyprus might be “within reach.” But some observers of the divided island suggest an agreement might be difficult to sustain. Like any good politician, US Secretary of State John Kerry understands the symbolic importance of a photograph. The image of him…
Talks move up a gear
By Lefteris Adilinis Convergences on important issues such as the number of deputies in the federal Upper and Lower House, an understanding on economic matters and positive signs on security have raised the mood at Cyprus peace negotiations. Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot teams meet near daily having all difficult aspects on the table. Their…