The US presidential envoy, Mr Richard Holbrooke, indirectly admitted defeat yesterday during a press conference in Nicosia. It was the end of a frenetic 48-hour shuttle mission intended to restart negotiations on the reunification of the island in a bizonal, bicommunal federation.
He admitted defeat by saying his deputy, Mr Thomas Miller, would return to the island only at the end of the month, instead of continuing negotiations until Mr Holbrooke himself returned at the end of this week.
Mr Holbrooke's return is uncertain, dependent on the invitation of the President of the Republic, Mr Glafkos Clerides, and the Turkish Cypriot leader, Mr Rauf Denktash.
Mr Holbrooke summed up the situation frankly: "If progress is to be made on Cyprus, genuine progress, both sides will have to be willing to engage in genuine give and take during serious negotiations. This is not the current situation." This is because negotiations cannot go ahead, he added, as "the Turkish side has taken two positions. First, that recognition of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus must precede any substantive talks. And secondly, that Cyprus must withdraw its application to the European Union."
He went on to say that Turkey had linked progress on the Cyprus problem with progress in its discussions on entry with the EU, adding that the US government "at the highest levels" thought the EU decision to permit Cyprus but not Turkey to begin accession talks "was unfortunate".
He said: "Turkey's candidacy . . . should be considered on the same basis as other existing applicants, recognising, as Turkey's own government does, that membership could take, and would take, many years."
The Clinton administration, he stated, "is committed to the view that the seemingly irreconcilable regional problems must be dealt with and in the post-Cold War atmosphere . . . become a thing of the past. I believe that there is a solution to the Cyprus problem, but the responsibility for reaching that solution first and foremost must rest with the parties themselves."
He drew a parallel between the Northern Ireland and Cyprus peace processes, revealing that the US team had given both sides in Cyprus copies of the Irish agreement, and pledged that the US would "remain engaged", although the US "cannot impose or force a solution on the parties or want a settlement more than the parties themselves".
AFP adds: Mr Holbrooke yesterday attended the inauguration of the first direct telephone lines linking the Turkish and GreekCypriot communities on Cyprus.
