Brussels, 22/01/2013 (Agence Europe) - In the view of Kudret Ozersay from the Eastern Mediterranean University, the fact that the Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish part of the island are faced with financial problems could help negotiations, by leaving the negotiators more free. Speaking at a European Policy Centre (EPC) conference on 22 January, he talked of domestic events - the financial crisis for the Republic and administrative problems for the north - and explained that this means that “the Cypriot issue is not high on the agenda”. “It could be said that this is something negative, that there is no interest any more but this can be a good thing (…) The lack of interest for the Cypriot issue can be positive. It will perhaps be easier (for the negotiators) to be more flexible in the negotiations”, he added, recalling the pressure of the communities on their leaders and also the pressure from the media. This is an opinion that James Ker Lindsay, a researcher from the London School of Economics and Political Science, does not necessarily share. In his view, the new president will not deal with the Cypriot issue immediately after his election because during the first, and indeed the second, year of his mandate, he will have above all to manage his country's financial crisis.
Difficult EU involvement. Confirming that financial difficulties are monopolising the presidential campaign in Cyprus, the former permanent secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus, Sotos Zackheos, said that the elected president will then have to determine the ways for the negotiations and to appoint a new chief negotiator.
In Zackheos' opinion, the EU ought to help in the negotiations and to be more involved in the process by appointing a person who represents the EU. However, in Ker Lindsay's view, the EU cannot be an honest broker because it is not neutral with regard to Turkey, due to the fact that the Republic of Cyprus and Greece are part of the EU. (CG/transl.fl)