Helsinki Cyprus meeting cancelled due to Turkish reluctance

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A meeting of European Union foreign ministers concerning the Cyprus question, which was to have taken place in Helsinki during the weekend, has been cancelled. Cyprus, as well as representatives of the Turkish northern part of the island, were ready to hold talks, but there was insufficient political will in Turkey.
      Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja did not want to give specific reasons for the cancellation of the meeting. He said on Thursday that the necessary conditions for progress in the discussions do not exist.
      The meeting had been seen as a possibility to avoid a "collision" between the EU and membership-applicant Turkey. Olli Rehn, the European Commissioner for Enlargement, is scheduled to report on progress in membership talks with Turkey on Wednesday next week.
     
European Union Presidency-holder Finland had hoped that the meeting on Cyprus might have been held before the Commission’s report on Turkey. Foreign Minister Tuomioja would not say directly that the cancellation was a setback, or that Turkey’s membership talks would now be hanging in the balance.
      "I have said that there is a 50 percent possibility for this [the Cyprus negotiations]. We must not overestimate things, but we will continue as long as possibilities exist", Tuomioja said.
      Turkey’s membership talks, which began a year ago, could be put on hold if Turkey does not agree to the EU demands. The matter is expected to be discussed among EU heads of state at the December EU summit in Brussels.
      "Turkey still does not understand the seriousness of the situation. The Turks are waiting for some kind of miraculous solution from the December summit, but no such thing is going to happen. This is an opportunity for everyone to win. Now the situation could change in such a way that all sides lose", said one source that has been following the situation closely.
      A significant difficulty in the complicated problems is that Turkey has not agreed to allow ships from Cyprus, which joined the EU in 2004, into its ports. Turkey says that it first wants an end to the economic embargo of the Turkish-occupied North Cyprus.
     
In its capacity as the holder of the EU Presidency, Finland has tried to negotiate a solution which would ease trade between the EU and North Cyprus, in return for an agreement by North Cyprus to relinquish the dilapidated Varosha area of the Turkish-occupied city of Famagusta to Greek Cypriots under United Nations supervision.
      The issue is a sensitive one for Turkey, which is preparing for national elections next year. If Turkey does not make concessions in the dispute, Cyprus is likely to use its veto to block continued membership discussions with Turkey.
      "If Turkey neglects its obligations, something must be done. Cyprus will not pay for the mistakes of the Turks", said Christodoulos Pashiardis, a representative of the President of Cyprus in the capital Nicosia on Thursday.
     
Although the Helsinki meeting was cancelled, Finland still hopes to negotiate between the sides on the matter. Tuomioja is scheduled to meet with Mehmet Ali Talat, the President of North Cyprus, in Brussels on Friday.
      Pashiardis says that a meeting with Talat will not solve the problem. He notes that the decision on relinquishing Varosha is one that will be made in the Turkish capital Ankara.
      "Mr. Talat has nothing to say in the matter. It is a matter for the Turkish army", Pashiardis noted.
     
North Cyprus has not been happy with the proposal put forward by Finland. Talat has demanded that the airport of Ercan in the north of Cyprus must be opened to international flights. Now air passengers from the EU, for instance, must change planes in Turkey to fly to North Cyprus.
      Cyprus is adamantly opposed to opening Ercan airport, and Finland does not plan to propose such a move. Cyprus feels that opening the airport would amount to partial recognition of North Cyprus. Turkey is the only country in the world to have recognised North Cyprus as an independent state.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Finland wants to convene emergency meeting on Cyprus question (1.11.2006)

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