Under the title “Proposal with three alternatives”, Turkish Cypriot daily Gunes newspaper (29.04.13) reports that the Turkish Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu has argued that UN Secretary-General special advisor for Cyprus, Alexander Downer should have acted right after the presidential elections in the Republic of Cyprus and launch a “new negotiating process”. 

Commenting on Downer’s visit to Turkey, Davutoglu said that the economic crisis in the government-controlled area of Cyprus and the internal discussions delayed these contacts and argued that the picture in Cyprus is very clear. He alleged that on the one hand there is a side which wants the immediate commencement of the negotiations and a solution, and on the other there is a side which prolongs the problem and finds various pretexts.

Davutoglu alleged that the Greek Cypriot side has interrupted the negotiations last year showing as pretext the presidential elections in the government-controlled area of the island and allegedly hoped that it would impose some things on Turkey during its EU term presidency.

Claiming that the pretext now is the economic crisis, Davutoglu argued: “…An important question is when these pretexts will end and they will seriously sit at the table. While these pretexts are prepared, the Greek Cypriot administration [Translator’s note: as he described the government of the Republic of Cyprus] issues from its parliament a law regarding the natural resources. They do not wait at all for these procedures, but they make up a lot of excuses when they need to negotiate and participate in the peace process. I will discuss these things tomorrow with Mr Downer”.

Davutoglu said that he had discussed the issue in the contacts he held last weeks with the Russian and American Foreign Ministers, Sergey Lavrov and John Kerry respectively, as well as with the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton.

Noting that he would convey to Downer what he discussed in these contacts, Davutoglu added: “This process should start somehow now and a stance on this problem should be exhibited. If these pretexts will continue, my three-alternative proposal is always on the table. Either they will come and we will find a solution or let us achieve an agreement that encompasses these resources in the context of a limited solution if they could not go for a definite overall solution, or if they say that ‘these resources belong to us and the resources in the north belong to the Turks’, this means that the time of thinking about a two state solution has come”.

Noting that there are enough problems in the Eastern Mediterranean, Davutoglu argued that instead of creating more problems we should solve the Cyprus problem the soonest, as this problems had allegedly reached close to a solution, which had not been possible because of what he described as the “lack of will” of the Greek Cypriots and their “no” vote.

He said that he tell Downer that we should find a solution in the one or the other way by negotiating. 

CNA