By Michele Kambas
NICOSIA, Feb 28 (Reuters) – Cyprus’s President Demetris Christofias said on Thursday his first priority was a peace deal on the divided island but said the key to a settlement was Turkey, whose bid to join the EU is hampered by the conflict.
In his confirmation speech to parliament, Christofias said he was ready to work for a settlement, but said he could not negotiate a deal without help from Ankara, which invaded north Cyprus in 1974 after a brief Greek inspired coup.
“Solving the Cyprus problem is the first priority of our government,” Christofias said before formally taking over from outgoing Tassos Papadopoulos.
“It will not be easy, we are aware of the difficulties. The key to a settlement is in Ankara’s hands. Turkey should decide to cooperate for a settlement.”
Christofias, 62, rode a wave of discontent with his predecessor’s hardline policies towards Turkish Cypriots to win a runoff election on Feb 24. Almost immediately, he came under pressure to make good on promises to push reunification efforts.
Peace talks have been in limbo since 2004, when Greek Cypriots, on the eve of joining the European Union, rejected a U.N. reunification plan accepted by Turkish Cypriots.
Diplomats said they expected Christofias to meet with Mehmet Ali Talat, the Turkish Cypriot leader, in early March.
ACTION NEEDED
Cyprus is now represented in the 27 bloc by its internationally recognised Greek Cypriot government which is unlikely to acquiesce to Turkish EU membership for as long as the island remains divided. Diplomats say the island faces a shift towards permanent partition if nothing is done soon.
A small army of diplomats have attempted without success to resolve Cyprus’s division, a source of tension between NATO partners Greece and Turkey even though their own bilateral relations have improved dramatically in the past decade.
Peace talks have been mired in disagreements over territory splits between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot sides, the rights of displaced persons, and how a future Cyprus as a federation — the model both sides agree on — should be governed.
“I want to address my Turkish Cypriot compatriots and assure them I have nothing but good intentions for reconciliation and peaceful co-existence,” said Christofias. He said, however, that the rights of one community could not be at the expense of another.
“That would kill off any settlement at birth,” he said.
Christofias, a communist who says he is happy with Cyprus’s market economy, earlier appointed a career banker as his finance minister, and EU Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou to the foreign ministry.
