Intercommunal Negotiations
Immediately after the opening of the intercommunal talks, under the auspices of the UN Secretary General, in February 1975, the Turkish side proceeded to the unilateral declaration of a “federal Turkish state”, which was condemned by UN Security Council Resolution 367 (1975).as undermining the negotiations, and called upon the Secretary General of the UN to undertake new good offices, so that “the resumption, the intensification, and the progress of the comprehensive negotiations…might thereby be facilitated.”
Moreover, the Turkish side violated the August 1975 intercommunal Agreement, concluded in Vienna, under which it undertook the obligation to ensure that the approximately 25,000 Greek Cypriots who then remained in the occupied section of Cyprus would be given “every help to lead a normal life”. Finally, the Turkish side withdrew from commitments it had repeatedly made to submit specific proposals on the key territorial aspects of the problem.
In 1977 and 1979, the intercommunal talks held under the auspices of the UN led to two High-Level Agreements that aimed at a federal solution, within the framework of the single sovereignty of the Cypriot state, respect for the fundamental freedoms and rights of all citizens and the demilitarization of the island. Additionally, the 1979 Agreement prioritized the conclusion of an agreement on the resettlement of refugees at Varosha, under the auspices of the UN, and for its implementation regardless of the progress of the negotiations for a comprehensive settlement of the problem.
In August 1980, the UN Secretary General’s spokesperson at the time stated that the two sides reiterated their support for a federal solution that should be bicommunal as regards the constitutional aspects and bizonal as regards the territorial aspects. The aforementioned phrase was also later adopted in the resolutions of the Security Council, beginning with Resolution 649/1990.
In November 1983, in the midst of yet another initiative on the part of the UN Secretary General, the Turkish side declared the occupied territories of Cyprus an “independent state”, which to date has only been recognized by Türkiye. UN Security Council Resolutions 541(1983) and 550 (1984) condemned the unilateral declaration and all of the further secessionist actions, which they characterized as illegal and invalid; asked for the immediate withdrawal of the Turkish forces; called on all states not to recognize the purported state that was created by the secessionist actions and not to facilitate or in any way assist the secessionist entity; condemned the Turkish threats for a settlement of Varosha and called for the transfer of the administration of that area to the administration of the United Nations.
From 1984 to 1992, the United Nations undertook a series of initiatives for achieving an agreed negotiating framework for a comprehensive settlement. The most important of these was Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali’s “Set of Ideas”, which was adopted by the Security Council as a basis for further negotiations. The latter proved impossible due to the Turkish side’s intransigence, which was criticized by Security Council Resolution 789 (1992).
From 1999 to 2004, the international community mounted a new effort to achieve a comprehensive solution to the Cyprus problem, in view of the imminent accession of Cyprus to the EU and the opening of Türkiye’s accession negotiations with the EU. In November 2002, the UN Secretary General submitted his comprehensive settlement plan for Cyprus. Four revised versions of the plan followed. The final version (Annan Plan 5) – which was the result of the UN Secretary General’s arbitration, and which did not lead to an agreement – was submitted to separate referenda, in which it was rejected by 75.83% of Greek Cypriots. In accordance with the provisions of the New York agreement of 13 February 2004, the submitted plan was rendered void and produced no legal effect.
Despite the rejection of the specific plan, the Cypriot government and a clear majority of Greek Cypriot political forces remained committed to the reunification of the island within the framework of the UN Security Council resolutions and the principles and values of the EU. The Greek Cypriot side undertook a series of initiatives that led to a broader international understanding and acceptance of its stance: that the method of artificial timeframes and of arbitration had proven counterproductive with regard to finding an agreed solution to the Cyprus problem.
New comprehensive negotiations beganin September 2008 as a result of initiatives taken by President Christofias (in office 2008-2013). These negotiations essentially froze at the end of March 2012, with Turkish leader Mr. Eroglu’s decision to stop attending the direct talks.
Direct talks began anew, two years later,on 11 February 2014, with the first official meeting between Cypriot President Anastasiades and Mr. Eroglu and an agreement on the text of their Joint Communiqué.
Among other things, the Joint Communiqué foresaw a negotiation on all the various aspects of the Cyprus question, including issues of governance and distribution of competences, property issues, European Union and economic issues, as well as issues of territorial status and international security aspects. The Communiqué also explicitly calls for a single, agreed upon solution which can subsequently be put forward for approval through two simultaneous referenda in the two communities, while excluding any arbitration.
The negotiations were interrupted in October 2014 on account of Turkish provocations which continued over a period of almost seven months, including violating the EEZ of Cyprus. The resumption of negotiations was made possible in May 2015. On 1 December 2016, President Anastasiades and Mr. Akinci agreed for the negotiations to continue in Geneva, Switzerland, with the exchanging of maps and the subsequent opening of an International Conference on Cyprus.
The Conference, operating under the auspices of the UN Secretary General, opened on January 12th, 2017, and was conducted in three separate stages: at Mont Pèlerin on 12 January 2017, where negotiations were held at the technical-operational level, in intercommunal negotiations in Nicosia, and at Crans Montana from June 30th to July 6th, 2017. Present at the negotiations in Crans Montana were President Anastasiades, the head of the Turkish-Cypriot Community, Mr. Akinci, the Foreign Ministers of Greece, the United Kingdom, and Türkiye, as well as the Vice-President of the European Commission, Mr. Timmermans, while the UN Secretary General was represented at the opening of the Conference by Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Feltman. The UN Secretariat announced that the UN Secretary General would travel to Crans Montana on June 29th and remain there until July 5th, 2017.
Ultimately, the UNSG presided over the conference on June 30th, 2017, where he presented the outline of a six-point plan, which became known as the “Guterres Framework” (detailed in paragraphs 19 – 24, from the Good Offices of the Secretary General Report of 28.9.2017). There are some noteworthy aspects from the outline, from among others:
- As far as the international aspect of Security – Guarantees is concerned, the right of unilateral intervention is described as “unsustainable,” and the replacement of the Treaty of Guarantees by mechanisms which will be agreed upon jointly by the Parties is proposed.
- With respect to the “presence of Greek and Turkish troops”, the framework stipulated that it had been agreed that any further unresolved issues would be settled at the highest political level between the Prime Ministers of the three Guarantor Powers.
- As far as the internal aspects of the Cyprus issue are concerned, especially the contentious bicommunal question of the definition of “Political Equality,” there were indications from the Cypriot side that one of the six points in the Guterres Framework called for an alternating Presidency at a ratio of 2:1. It also called for a single Turkish-Cypriot vote only on issues where the vital interests of both Communities were at stake, thus implying that there would be a horizontal and effective deadlock resolving mechanism.
Upon his departure the following day from Crans Montana, the Secretary General of the UN, in a statement issued by his representative, emphasized that he remains committed to the continuation of ongoing efforts. He returned to Crans Montana on July 6th, 2017, where, following a working dinner with the heads of the delegations to the Conference, he stated, among others: “I am deeply sorry to inform you that, despite the very strong commitment and the engagement of all the delegations and the different parties, the Greek and Turkish Cypriot delegations, Greece, Türkiye, and the United Kingdom, and the European Union, as an observer, and of course, the United Nations team, the Conference on Cyprus was closed without an agreement being reached”. Furthermore, responding to questions, he stated that “the conference is closed. That doesn’t mean that other initiatives can not be developed in order to address the Cyprus problem…the United Nations role is the role of a facilitator and we will always be at the disposal of the parties willing to come to an agreement, if that would be the case”.
The first common meeting between the UN Secretary General, President Anastasiades, and the Turkish-Cypriot leader, Mr. Akinci, took place on November 25, 2019. According to the announcement from the UN Secretary General, both Leaders welcomed the involvement of the United Nations Secretary General and confirmed their commitment and determination in finding a solution to the Cyprus question on the basis of a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality, as called for in the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions, including Paragraph 4 of Resolution 716 (1991). Additionally, they agreed that achieving a comprehensive and viable solution to the Cyprus question, within a reasonable timeframe, was of paramount importance for the future prosperity of both Communities, and that the current status quo was not sustainable. Furthermore, both Leaders confirmed their commitment to the Joint Communiqué of 11 February, 2014, to earlier convergences and to the six-point framework presented by the UN Secretary General on 30 June, 2017, aiming to achieve a Strategic Agreement, which could open the road to a comprehensive solution.
On 27-29 April 2021, an informal “5+UN” Meeting on the Cyprus Question was convened by the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, in Geneva, with the participation of the President of the Republic of Cyprus Nikos Anastasiades, the Turkish Cypriot Leader Ersin Tatar, and the then Foreign Ministers of Greece, Nikos Dendias, the United Kingdom, Dominic Raab, and Türkiye, Mevlut Cavusoglu.
The meeting aimed at creating the appropriate conditions for the resumption of negotiations for the resolution of the Cyprus Question, in the framework of the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions and with the complete implementation of the European Union acquis.
The Greek and Cypriot sides made it abundantly clear that the above-mentioned framework was the only acceptable framework within which negotiations could resume.
Furthermore, they highlighted that a prerequisite for the resolution of the Cyprus Question was the active participation of the European Union in each step of the process, so as to guarantee the compatibility of a solution with the European Union acquis and so that the active involvement of the Republic of Cyprus in the decision-making process and the wider functioning of the European Union could continue unhindered.
However, with the Turkish side and the new Turkish-Cypriot leader, Mr. Ersin Tatar, insisting, conversely, on a two-state solution completely outside the framework of the UN Security Council Resolutions, while also calling for an “equal international status” and “sovereign equality” of each side, the chasm between the two sides became apparent.
In the end, Mr. Guterres suggested that the efforts to resume negotiations should continue, which was accepted by all.