Cyprus leaders hold historic peace talks

Leaders of Cyprus’ rival communities will hold reunification talks today, seen as the best chance in years of ending the island’s division.

Cyprus president Dimitris Christofias will begin formal negotiations with Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat.

Both men say they are determined to end Cyprus’ division, which has kept the island split between Greek and Turkish Cypriots for 34 years. Their display of political will has raised hopes for a deal.

“For the first time, there are two moderate leftist leaders who are believed to be serious in their attempt to solve the problem,” said Hubert Faustmann, professor of international relations at Nicosia University.

“Before, you always had at least one Cypriot spoiler.”

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded in response to a short-lived coup aimed at uniting the island with Greece. Turkey keeps 35,000 troops in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north.

Past peace efforts have repeatedly foundered on the same sticking points - power-sharing arrangements, property rights for displaced Greek Cypriots, the nature of a future federation and intervention rights for Turkey and Greece.

The two countries remain guarantor powers for the island, which gained independence from Britain in 1960.

Fifteen United Nations envoys have tried and failed over the decades to broker a deal to unify the island which has fewer than a million inhabitants.

The last attempt, in 2004, collapsed when Turkish Cypriots voted in favour a UN settlement plan, but Greek Cypriot voters rejected it.

As a result, Cyprus joined the European Union that year as a divided island with Turkish Cypriots denied the bloc’s membership benefits.

But prospects for a deal improved in February when the Communist-backed Mr Christofias was elected president on a campaign pledge of reviving peace talks.

He worked quickly with Mr Talat to create problem-solving committees, and reopened a symbolic border crossing at Ledra Street in the medieval centre of the divided capital, Nicosia.

Mr Talat says a deal is possible in the next nine months.

Today’s meeting is expected to be largely ceremonial, but the talks have gained urgency because of concern that another failure could calcify the island’s partition.

Andrekos Varnava, a history professor at Cyprus European University, said failure this time could transform the Turkish Cypriot north into a “Mediterranean Taiwan”.

The two leaders remain at odds over what shape a future reunited Cyprus will take.

Mr Christofias wants a stronger central government with more limited regional powers – addressing his voters’ concerns that a federal deal could eventually unravel into formal partition.

The 62-year-old Soviet-educated history professor has gained key support from long-time political rivals in his effort to reach a settlement.

Turkish Cypriots seek a loose federation, fearing dominance by Greek Cypriots, who outnumber them by roughly four to one.

Decisions made by Mr Talat, 56, could also be affected by the recent political turmoil in Turkey.

Erol Kaymak, a professor of international relations at the Eastern Mediterranean University, said Turkey may not be ready to sign off on a Cyprus deal.

He said Turkish prime minister Tayyip Erdogan’s Islamic-rooted AK Party may not be willing to make concessions on emotional issues like Cyprus after narrowly surviving a legal challenge at home over alleged anti-secular activities.

“AKP survived in court but it was a close shave,” Mr Kaymak said. “So it’s likely that AKP will not want to take too many risks.”