By Darren Ennis
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Cyprus’s new foreign minister said on Thursday he intended to capitalise on a “new momentum” to unify the ethnically divided island and believed there was a real chance he could broker a long-term agreement.
Markos Kyprianou resigned as the European Union’s health chief on Thursday to return to his native Cyprus, become foreign minister of a new government and help lead attempts to forge a peace deal for the divided Mediterranean island.
“There is new interest and new momentum to reach a deal and I intend to exploit this new momentum,” Kyprianou told Reuters in an interview after his resignation.
“I have two goals, one to integrate Cyprus fully into the European Union by contributing to the European structure and foreign and defence policy, but yes, my top priority is the resolution of the Cyprus issue. It is very early after the elections, but I think we can achieve this.”
Kyprianou, appointed EU health commissioner in May 2005, said the positive conditions for forging a reunification of Cyprus were irresistible. The island was divided when a brief Greek-inspired coup triggered a Turkish invasion in 1974, and its division remains a stumbling block to Ankara’s EU ambitions.
“This is the only reason I am going back. I was very proud to be EU Commissioner and was still very enthusiastic to look after the health of over 500 million Europeans,” he said.
“But at the same time the good prospects and the positive new process on unification meant I could not sit back and watch from afar. I owed it to my country.”
The 58-year-old member of the Democratic Party, Cyprus’s third largest party, said he hoped to take up his new role next week alongside communist leader Demetris Christofias, who won the presidential election runoff on Feb. 24.
He said he expected United Nations-brokered meetings with the Turkish Cypriots to take place “very soon” after he takes office. Christofias has already sought early talks with Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat.
“The responsibility lies with the U.N. Any deal relies on the U.N. and the EU, which has the most interest in this issue since it already contains one of the countries involved and the other is a candidate country,” Kyprianou said.
The Cypriot, who has been tireless in tackling sensitive problems such as alcohol, smoking and obesity, believes his time in Brussels has put him in a good position to engage the help of the international community, which he said is necessary for an agreement on Cyprus.
“My experience in dealing with delicate international issues in Brussels certainly means I am very well placed and I intend to use this experience and influence in my new role,” he said.
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