Brussels, 05/04/2013 (Agence Europe) - Although the foreign ministers of Cyprus' two parts seem willing to dialogue in order to find a solution to dividing up the island, the minister of the Turkish part, Hüseyin Özgürgün, highlights the possibility of a two-State solution. His Greek Cypriot counterpart, Ioannis Kasoulides, cannot contemplate such a solution.
A delegation of Turkish Cypriots discussed with Turkish officials on 3 and 4 April on a roadmap for the Cypriot conflict, according to the Turkish media, Hürriyet Daily News. Özgürgün explained that the roadmap could include work on a two-State solution if the Greek Cypriot side does not come any closer to the negotiating table. On the basis of what exists at the moment, a two-state solution is inevitable if one of the parties refuses reunification, he added. Ankara shares this view.
Kasoulides underlined end March that his government categorically rejected any idea of or proposal for a two-state solution. The 1960 agreements are there for a single Cyprus state, he pointed out. In his view, the Turkish references made to the existence of two peoples, to joint ownership of the island, to equitable sharing of hydrocarbons and to two states amounts to refusal and violation of what Turkey has itself guaranteed.
Kasoulides said the financial crisis that is currently hitting Cyprus would mean that it cannot accept just any solution. He went on to add that preparations were under way for rekindling, as soon as possible, the process for finding a solution to the Cypriot problem, in line with the UN resolutions. (CG/transl.jl)