Cypriot Leaders Restart Unification Talks

By SEBNEM ARSU. Published: September 3, 2008. ISTANBUL — The leaders of the two sides of the long-divided island of Cyprus met Tuesday to restart talks on reunification that stalled in 2006.

Demetris Christofias, leader of the internationally recognized Greek Cypriot state in the south, and Mehmet Ali Talat, the leader of the Turkish community in the north, met in the split city that is the capital of both, Nicosia. The two leaders met in a special buffer zone at the invitation of Alexander Downer, a former Australian foreign minister who is acting as special envoy to the United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon. The most critical phase is expected to begin at a meeting set for Sept. 11, when administrative and power-sharing issues will be addressed. Mr. Talat, speaking to reporters beforehand, said he believed the two sides had the determination and decisiveness to reach a conclusion shortly.

“We are not starting from zero,” Mr. Talat said. “Therefore, I don’t think the negotiations will continue for very long.”  Rigidity on both sides over the years prevented any mutually agreeable solution. They differ particularly on an administrative structure for a unified island. The Turkish Cypriots, whose territory is smaller and poorer, have has held out for a two-nation state in a federal structure, whereas the Greek government insists on a unified state that allocates resources proportionately to the two communities.

The Greek side clearly has not changed on that point, and uses its membership — and veto power — in the European Union as something of a cudgel on Turkey, which wants to become a member. “The resolution should be in line with the norms of the European Union,” Mr. Christofias was quoted as saying by NTV, a private news television. “Everyone should respect the territorial unity of Cyprus. We seek a resolution based on a unified state structure.”  In 2004, the United Nations backed a referendum supported heavily by the Turkish side that called for a weak central government in a federal state structure, but the majority Greek Cypriots overwhelmingly voted against it. Since then, the Turkish side has intensified efforts for international recognition, and received limited but symbolic support from some European Union countries as well as the United States. Cyprus has been divided since 1964, when fighting between the two sides prompted the United Nations to create a buffer zone. In 1974, the military dictatorship in power in Athens engineered a coup to try to unite the island with Greece. Turkey deployed troops to the island’s northern third, and has since maintained a heavy presence