Former Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat
A former Turkish Cypriot leader has criticised the leaders of both communities on the island for causing the collapse of peace talks.
Mehmet Ali Talat said the Greek Cypriot Nicos Anastasiades was responsible for “ending the negotiations and upending the table”. But he also accused the Turkish Cypriot president Derviş Eroğlu of giving Mr Anastasiades the opportunity to walk away.
Mr Talat was Turkish Cypriot prime minister in 2004, when the only peace plan ever to be concluded for the island was brokered by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. Despite Turkish Cypriot support, the deal was later rejected by Greek Cypriots in a referendum.
Mr Talat later became Turkish Cypriot president, serving a single term between 2005 and 2010.
BIDEN’S VISIT ‘CLEARLY FAILED’
Speaking on Wednesday, he said it was “unfair” to use the Turkish decision to start seismic explorations in the Mediterranean as the reason to end the negotiations.
He told Londra Gazete: “If the negotiations had been going well, Turkey would not have started its search for natural gas. If the talks had begun to bear fruit, the Turkish government would not have picked this path.”
Both communities have rights to use the island’s energy resources and Turkey was the only country capable of protecting the rights of the Turkish Cypriots. He said the Greek Cypriot policy of “allowing Cypriot Turks to benefit from energy resources after a peace deal is reached” was not acceptable to Turks.
NEITHER SIDE WAS POSITIVE
But although the Turkish exploration may have stopped the talks, Mr Talat said neither side had shown a positive attitude while negotiations were underway.
Western leaders appeared to be playing a greater role in getting the two sides to talk for this reason, he said, adding that US Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to the island in May had clearly been a failure.
He continued: “I cannot say which side is more at fault, but I do criticise Eroğlu for his attitude during the negotiations. At the end of the day, the Greeks are the internationally recognised side and could easily be thinking ‘why should we strike a deal with the Turks?’
“[The Turkish side] could have demonstrated a more positive approach to overcome this and draw the Greek side back to the table.”
Meanwhile United Nations-backed efforts to restart the talks are underway. The Secretary-General’s special adviser, Espen Barth Eide, was in Turkey and Greece this week to discuss the situation.
He was expected to meet Turkish and Greek leaders this week too.
