Front Page Headlines
Tough choices in TC elections
Turkey and Covid loom large over anxious and angry voters in the north of the island.
- Comment: Cyprus: the mouse that roared for a week
- Coffeeshop: Prez Nik’s mission impossible in Brussels
Turkey spreads in Artsakh but EU is absent
How the UN’s five-party meeting is turning into a trap for EU’s Mediterranean (conference). The map illustrates how Turkey is spreading its tentacles everywhere. All the way to Artsakh. And the EU caresses the Sultan, while Athens with Nicosia fantasise about constructive dialogues in Cyprus and the Aegean, despite the fact that Erdogan continues to threaten us making it clear that he wants it all…
- Nagorno-Karabakh: Russia – Turkey’s energy game
- The rage of war: Book by Yiannos Charalambides among top five in the world
- Armenian Genocide: Turkey as a history of ethnic cleansing
- (Editorial) The fustanella and the fez
- Game of names: Tough battle in Famagusta over legislative elections
- Savvas Iacovides (opinion): Germany is raising a ruthless Turkish Hitler
- Andreas Symeou (opinion): Cyprus Problem – moment of truth: The thorn of properties and Guterres’s “solomoniki” (spell-book)
- Andreas Theophanous (opinion): The EU, the UN and Cyprus
- Christ. Giallourides (opinion): Updated dimensions of a genocidal past
Concerns in Nicosia over multi-party (conference)
The summit brought back the German proposal. The European Council seeks a multi-party conference for the Eastern Mediterranean and called on Josep Borrell to begin negotiations regarding its organisation. “Will this conference cast doubt on EEZ delineation agreements that Cyprus has already signed with Egypt and Israel?”, Nicosia wonders. What will happen if Turkey asks for Turkish Cypriots to sit on the table as an interested party, in order to accept the participation of Cyprus in the conference? Probably unattainable.
- The final text of the conclusions – What message did our European partners send? – More carrots in Brussels than sticks – Analysis by: Dionisis Dionisiou, Giannis Ioannou
- Occupied areas: Ankara interventions on the agenda
- DIKO – legislative (elections): Personalities are not the only bet
Fast track processes
Merkel moves behind the scenes with the help of NATO, UN, USA over Cyprus Problem, Greek-Turkish relations. Time frame until December.
- The minutes of the first meetings that set the foundations: The building of the Cypriot state
- Text with a double reading: EU conclusions have no detonator
- Tasos Tzionis (interview): Strategic planning and political will needed urgently
- Service providers: Noose tightens for crooks
- A struggle and two tragic events
- A response to the handling of the Cyprus Problem 1955-59
Merkel tossed two-sided coin
The effort to organise a multi-party conference for the Eastern Mediterranean begins with early 2021 as the goal.
- Alarm in the US: Turkey which owns S-400 “looking” for F-16s
- Editorial: On pragmatism
- Feature: Turkish Cypriots vote for BBF or two states – Serdar Denktas: Yes to a loose federation – A conflict of two worlds: Mustafa Akinci and Ersin Tatar most likely for 2nd round – Nicos Moudouros (opinion): Who will be Turkey’s “akritas” (defender)? – George Vasiliou (opinion): The cost of non solution of the Cyprus Problem – Polls: Reading between the numbers
- 60 years of RoC: The difficult years of the Republic (Nicos Koshis interview)
- Andreas Paraschos (opinion): What we gained and what we lost
- Haris Georgiades (opinion): Europe and Turkey
- Alexis Papahelas (opinion): The difficult battle of impressions
They failed and they deceive the people
- Reportage: People without identities, even though they live in Cyprus for years
- Analysis: The EU’s double standards
- Elections in the occupied areas: New ideas vs federation
- (Stephen Lillie interview) The only way to a solution is through the United Nations framework
Pressure by Cyprus brought results
Points made by German newspaper FAZ about the summit. (Pressure) Led to to a tougher decision on Turkey. Nicosia was not alone as it was supported by Greece, France and other countries.
- The two sides have committed in front UNSG to correct the Crans Montana shipwreck: Reunification or partition after the T/C elections – President Anastasiades expressed his pleasure over Guterres’s recently stated intention to restart a new iniative
- Coronavirus: The chain of cases lengthens
- Christos Panagiotidis (opinion): Defeatism and lack of boldness have no place in our struggle
- George Vasiliou (opinion): We have to all together fight for the reunification of our homeland
Main News
EU Council decisions to play into new effort for CyProb negotiations
Alithia, Haravgi, Kathimerini, Phileleftheros, Politis, Simerini, Sunday Mail
Negotiations Process, EU Matters, Regional/ International Relations, External Security, Energy
Kathimerini reports that the message sent by the recent results of the European Council is that for the EU, and specifically for the German Presidency of the Council, the aim is to de-escalate in the region and to lead to comprehensive negotiations on the Cyprus Problem.
The newspaper recalls that Berlin had sent a clear message to Nicosia that additional sanctions on Turkey over the Eastern Mediterranean were out of the question, but that it accepts that the precondition to restart any negotiations is for Turkish actions in the Cypriot EEZ to end. According to the report, Germany is taking steps in that direction.
According to Kathimerini, international players are setting up the stage for a resumption of negotiations on the Cyprus Problem which will hinge mainly on Turkey’s actions and intentions and whether it will remove its ships from Cyprus’s EEZ. The next steps will also depend on the results of the upcoming elections in the T/C community, which will decide whether there will be a resumption of the Crans Montana process or negotiations on a new model, as well as T/C and Turkish actions regarding Varosha.
Kathimerini points out that the NAVTEX for Turkish drill ship Yavuz expires on October 12th and the one for Barbaros on October 18th, and that Turkey’s behaviour on those dates will give an indication of its intentions.
Kathimerini also reports that the EU is working intensely towards comprehensive de-escalation in the Eastern Mediterranean and towards organising a regional conference which would take place in early 2021.
Politis reports that the EU has already contacted Egypt and Libya but that Israel has not been approached so far. Greece is reported to have objected over the question of who would represent Libya in such a conference.
Politis reports that the plans for a regional conference on the Eastern Mediterranean are causing concerns for the government due to Turkey’s position that the T/C community should be represented.
Government sources told Politis that it is clear that Nicosia would reject proposals for T/Cs to participate separately and for the RoC to not be represented, which means that Turkey’s proposal is unenforceable as it stands. The same sources pose the question whether the fact that all of the countries in the region would participate, would mean that the RoC’s delimitation deals with countries like Israel and Egypt would be cast in doubt since Turkey does not recognise the Cypriot government.
The same source notes that during such a conference, there is the possibility of some actors putting on the table the issue of incomes from natural gas exploitation being shared between the two communities before a solution.
Politis notes that on Friday, President Anastasiades noted that the issue of who would participate in a conference on the Eastern Mediterranean is still open and should be agreed on by all involved. And added that he had made it clear, with the support of other leaders, that the Republic of Cyprus would need to be represented in the same way as it is represented in the European Council. He stressed that it would not be acceptable for any other community to be present.
Anastasiades added that during the Council he had responded to discussions regarding a mechanism for sharing natural gas before a solution, by pointing out that there are convergences from 2011 and 2015 that ensure the T/Cs share on incomes from natural gas. He also referred to his 2019 proposal that the RoC create an escrow account for the T/Cs, given that Turkey respects the Cypriot EEZ.
Undecided voters and Serdar Denktas key to T/C election result
Alithia, Haravgi, Kathimerini, Politis, Sunday Mail
Negotiations Process, CBMs, Governance & Power Sharing
Kathimerini reports that the number of undecided voters is likely to decide the results of the upcoming T/C elections. In an article, T/C political analyst Mete Hatay points out that while two recent poll show Mustafa Akinci and Ersin Tatar moving to the second round, and Akinci winning, a poll by the Gezici polling company ignored the undecided voters, leading to Ersin Tatar winning in the second round.
Hatay points out that Gezici did not publish all the questions and the full data of their poll, but that in all other polls the percentage of the undecided tends to move in a range between 30% and 40%. He also reports on information that the Tatar campaign was the one that funded the Gezici poll.
The author also points out that due to the ongoing tension between Akinci and the Turkish government, many respondents could be hiding their true choices and declining to comment.
According to the report, the high level of undecided voters is clear in other polls conducted by the Centre for Migration, Identity and Rights Research (CMIRS), and one conducted by academic institutions and funded by LSE.
Politis reports that Turkey is making a point of pushing the candidacy of Ersin Tatar. This policy is reported to be bothering politicians and voters that would usually not be against a close relationship with Turkey. The newspaper notes the incident when Tatar did not participate in a pre-election debate on Genc TV, only to appear on the same night on breaking news, during the debate, to announce he had signed the much-awaited economic protocol with Turkey. The report also notes that all candidates, except for Kudret Ozersay, reacted to Turkey’s push of Ersin Tatar. Including the candidate of the pro-settler party, Erhan Arikli.
The newspaper also reports Serdar Denktas is developing into a king-maker by adopting a more Cypriot-centric approach, flirting with a federal solution and keeping his options open for the second round of the election.
In an interview with Kathimerini, Denktas said he would discuss a decentralised federation and explains his own proposal for turning Varosha into a zone with a special administrative status, in consultation with the UN.