Front Page Headlines
Now looking to September
Any real tourism prospects hinge on having main markets in category A.
- Cyprus: Thousands of NGOs face purge
- Business: Russia tax change to impact Cyprus
The traps of the buffer zone mechanism
The pretext for UNFICYP’s withdrawal and Spehar’s vacillation. The legal status of the buffer zone and the chief of the Turkish Armed forces. Three basic pylons of sanctions against Turkey. How the absence of a navy leads the EU to inaction and faits accomplis. Deterrence means sanctions before the crisis, not after.
- Geopolitical ambitions: Pretend friendship with Haftar and proportional response to Turkey
- Poll: 74% supports military cooperation between Cyprus – US
- (Editorial) Deadly delusions
- Ankara prevails while Athens – Nicosia receive promises from EU: Brussels fight Turkey with… water guns
- Black July: The traitorous coup and the Turkish invasion
- Personal bet: Erdogan vs Kemal – The mother of all battles
- Erdogan as in Ayatollah Ali Khomeini: “Oh Mustafa Kemal, I have surpassed thee”
- Savvas Iacovides (opinion): Why Cyprus will not become another Syria, another Libya, another Iraq
- Lazaros Mavros (opinion): The other also whipped the Hellespont 300 times…
- Antis Loizou (opinion): The priorities of the National Guard
- Christos Christou (opinion): Cyprus’s black month
Heading to five-party meeting if Akinci is elected
Turkey has already told Germany – during bilaterals – that she is ready for a new five-party conference (plus the United Nations) similar to Crans Montana. Despite the fact that Anastasiades – Mitsotakis did not hit it off, today Nicosia wants different things regarding Turkey in comparison to Athens. What is becoming clear is that if Athens and Ankara find seats at the negotiation table, this development will also bring a moment of truth for the Cyprus Problem. German initiative.
- Feature: The price of betrayal: The invasion that should have still been prevented and the day the Kerkoporta was opened. A rhapsody to smart-ass foolishness
- Larnaca: Zuhuri becomes alive
Tayip listens to no one
He takes part in Berlin’s secret meetings while preparing a research vessel. Germany rejects sanctions without question.
- Aishe came for vacations… and hasn’t left since!
- Creation of mechanism under the UN: Military dialogue to be with occupation army
- Charalambos Petrides (interview): Purchase of American weapons being assessed as an option
- Constantinos Philis: Hagia Sophia decision a sign of decline
- Nicos Moudouros: Erdogan cuts Turkey off Kemal
- Resistance fighter “came back to life” a little before being buried in 1974
- The basic elements for EEZ delineation
- Testimony about Makarios’s address from Paphos
Scenarios of how crisis will climax
Athens and Nicosia tend to agree that Ankara could cross the red lines over the next period.
- Diplomacy: Sanctions again in aftermath of tensions
- Defence: Cooperation with France a shield for Cyprus
- Mutlu Civiroglu (interview): Tramp and Erdogan on the election arena
Turkey comfortable with inaction
- Society: “Only the military presence of the Bases was secured”
- Analysis: Hagia Sophia: An unprecedented blow to Kemal’s legacy
- Decisive pressure to Turkey needed, but how?
- “No excuse for the betrayal, no forgiveness”
- “They put us all on a line and set up guns across us”
- “EOKA ordered my execution in 1958”
- “On their faces the most tragic story of the land”
6 burning questions
Over handling of the Giorkadji list by parliament. Will those responsible respond? Or pretend they’re deaf? Why during the discussion in the ad hoc parliamentary committee was the list quickly determined as unreliable, and why were Chrystalla Giorkadji and the banks not called to present their position and enter into dialogue. The history: The list of wrath.
- Analysis: Forty six years since the Turkish invasion of Cyprus – Grim prospects: Guterres’s loud warnings – After the end of the Conference of Cyprus in Crans Montana, tensions on the island have been progressively increasing
- Questions and answers: Concerns commonly cited by Greek Cypriots
- President of the Republic: We also denounced Turkey to Angela Merkel
Main News
RoC open for UN-led military mechanism with Turkish army
Phileleftheros, Politis, Sunday Mail
Negotiations Process, External Security, Internal Security, CBMs
Phileleftheros reports that the RoC government has signalled its readiness to discuss the possibility of a mechanism for military coordination that would be operating under the UN, Phileleftheros reports. The newspaper points out that the government has clarified that it will only accept to do so if this coordination is conducted between the National Guard and the head of the Turkish army on the island, and not the T/C armed forces which are connected to the “TRNC”.
The newspaper reports that on May 1st, the UNSG’s representative on Cyprus, Elizabeth Spehar, sent a letter to the two leaders proposing that the two sides enter into a dialogue over military matters. Spehar was citing the UNSG’s and the Security Council’s call for increased cooperation in previous reports.
According to the report, Spehar has proposed a technical committee involving military personnel from the National Guard and the T/C forces, operating as civilians. She has noted in the letter that the National Guard and the Turkish army avoid direct contact, and pointed out that the UN would not insist on involving the Turkish army since Turkey is expected to reject this outright.
The government’s response, as formulated by Foreign Minister Nicos Christodoulides, is that the RoC does not disagree with the idea, but insists that this military dialogue should be conducted between representatives of the National Guard and the Turkish occupying army. Also, in a document outlining the government’s positions regarding the UNSG’s latest report on his Good Services, President Anastasiades pointed out the National Guard and the Turkish army should participate as the warring parties as defined by Security Council Resolution 186 (1964).
According to the newspaper, the government argues that it would be counter productive to involve the T/C forces in this dialogue since they are directly answerable to Turkish army officials.
Meanwhile, Politis reports that Turkey has indicated to Germany through their bilateral contacts that it is open to the return to a negotiation similar to the format of Crans Montana even before the end of this year, citing a high-ranking diplomatic source. Greek Cypriot sources point out that they are certain that there will be a five-party meeting before the end of the year if Mustafa Akinci is re-elected, but that things might head towards an impasse if Ersin Tatar is elected T/C leader.
The same source did not comment when the journalist reminded them of the fact that the government is preparing for negotiations while undermining Elizabeth Spehar through leaks in the media.
Cyprus and Greece expect escalation by Turkey, disagree on strategy
Alithia, Haravgi, Kathimerini, Phileleftheros, Politis, Simerini
External Security, Energy, EU Matters, Regional/ International Relations
Kathimerini reports that both Greece and Cyprus converge on the expectation that Turkey will attempt to escalate its behaviours in the Easter Mediterranean in the coming months. However they assess the timing of the escalation and its nature differently, while approaching the issue of what needs to be done differently.
According to the newspaper, Nicosia expects that Turkey will attempt to create an incident at Kastelorizo towards the end of July. Athens expects to have to face an incident in September, south of Crete. Kathimerini reports also that Cypriot officials also consider the issues brought up by the T/C “government” regarding the upkeep of military installations in Tillyria as part of an effort to create artificial tensions.
The newspaper also reports that Turkey is preparing its strategies in all three fronts in the Eastern Mediterranean: Libya, Syria and Greco-Turkish relations. It also notes that Turkish media that are connected to the Erdogan government take care to combine these issues in their reporting.
Politis reports that Athens and Nicosia have different approaches and priorities regarding EU – Turkish relations. Athens is reported to want to negotiate with Turkey and avoid further tensions, while Nicosia insists in immediate sanctions which are easier to sell to public opinion.
Phileleftheros reports that the EU’s German Presidency and High Representative Josep Borrell are attempting to de-escalate the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean, through secret diplomacy between Greece and Turkey, but that Ankara is using these meetings as a cover while continuing to take provocative actions.
The newspaper reports, citing information, that Ankara is expected to send a research vessel near Kastelorizo since escalating the situation there is considered easier to control than a similar move near Crete. Phileleftheros adds that Turkey’s permanent representative in the UN, Feridun Sinirlioglu has sent a letter to the Secretariat claiming that drillings by “Yavuz” are taking place exclusively in Turkey’s continental shelf.
Phileleftheros also reports that Cyprus, Israel and Greece are yet to announce the date of a planned trilateral meeting of Foreign Ministers due to increased coronavirus cases in Israel. The meeting was originally planned to take place in August.
Alithia reports that President Anastasiades met with German chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday, on the margins of the European Council. Anastasiades informed Merkel of the latest developments regarding Turkey’s actions in the Eastern Mediterranean and said he is ready to continue negotiations towards a comprehensive solution in the Cyprus Problem, according to a written statement by the government spokesperson. The same announcement points out that Merkel responded by saying she is ready to contribute in de-escalation in the region.
In another development, Defence Minister Charalambos Petrides had told Phileleftheros in an interview that the RoC is considering the possibility of purchasing American weapons. Petrides said that the agreement over military training of National Guard officials in the US’s IMET programme means that trainings would begin in later 2020 and possibly 2021.
Responding to a question whether Cyprus could purchase American weapons, Petrides said that whether that could happen is an internal issue for the American government to decide through the State Department and it’s Department of Defence. He said that already there are positive steps in this direction and that a special US – Cyprus committee has been formed to examine ways to coordinate on multiple areas.
In related news, 74% of respondents to a poll conducted for Simerini approve of a possible military cooperation with the US. Nine out of ten respondents to the poll, conducted by IMR/ University of Nicosia, believe that the participation of officers in the American training programme will be positive for their capabilities.
When asked why they think the US decided to include the RoC in their programme (respondents picked more than one reply), 71% said they believe it was in order to better serve their interest in the region, 43% said it was to prevent Cyprus to cooperate with countries considered as enemies of the US, 10% that it was to contribute to the upgrading of our country’s capabilities and 16% said it was to pressure Turkey on bilateral issues.
In another question, 78% responded that they would not expect the US to interfere on Cyprus’s behalf in case of an incident with Turkey. Also, when asked whether improving US – Cypriot military cooperation would help prevent Turkey from encroaching into the Cypriot EEZ, 21% said definitely yes, 26% said probably yes, 35% said probably no and 18% said definitely no.