Ankara has undermined the mission of the UN Secretary General’s envoy on Cyprus, is attempting to “overturn” the effort, and is methodically moving to find a way to implement Plan B, for two states, which has long been its first choice. The facts, which are emerging from the contacts made over the last ten days by Mrs. Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar, indicate that not only is the effort not moving forward, but the next step in the Cyprus problem will be in abeyance, especially if the mission collapses at six months, as Turkey wants.
The trip of the UN Secretary General’s envoy to Cyprus, which concludes tomorrow with separate meetings with President Christodoulides and the occupation leader, Ersin Tatar, has not changed the landscape. This was evident from her first visit and was confirmed on her current visit, the third in a row.
The occupation side has from the outset engineered to bring the talks to a standstill. Even when Ankara accepted the envoy’s appointment, they aimed to confirm the stalemate and the gap in views to initiate a change in the terms of reference of the Secretary-General and their content.
In this context, the occupying side is pressing for a non-renewal of Mrs. Holguin’s contract on 5 July, and an admission that “nothing can be done”. Although the renewal of the effort and the maintenance of the mission is up to the Secretary-General, what Ms. Holguin writes in her report also matters. That is, whether she believes that there is a possibility of finding a way out or that no prospect exists.
The Bolivian envoy of the International Organisation has spent the last ten days meeting with all the key players and international actors. The key trip was the one to Ankara and the meeting with the Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan, who was diplomatic but expressed the usual line, leaving no room for optimism. It was, after all, a precursor of what she would hear in the occupied territories. When she met the occupation leader, Ersin Tatar, the latter, without any equivocation, made it clear that without recognition he would not sit at the same table with President Christodoulides.
The occupation side argues that “time is running out, these issues have been discussed for decades, there is no prospect of convergence of views and we are moving on to other issues.” The method, which is being promoted publicly by the Turkish side, is to put the two-state scenario on the table. At the same time, it is clear that after a new deadlock, it will attempt to consolidate and perpetuate new deadlocks. These new faits accomplis, both on the ground and at sea, will be imposed with the termination of Mrs. Holguin’s mission and possibly linked to the celebrations planned in the occupied territories to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the invasion and the continuing occupation.
At the same time, it is clear that Ankara is also focused on efforts to upgrade the pseudo-state. Officials at the Turkish Foreign Ministry are aware of the difficulties that exist but it is clear that they are systematically and methodically preparing the ground for recognition.stalemate. Ankara, UN Secretary General’s envoy, Cyprus
