Alexis Tsipras’ new book “Ithaki”, released yesterday, includes extensive references to the Cyprus talks, and in particular to what happened during the Crans-Montana summit.
Inside Athens–Nicosia coordination
In a dedicated chapter titled “Cyprus: a breath away from a solution”, the former Greek Prime Minister writes that the SYRIZA Government had decided not to involve itself in the internal aspects of the Cyprus issue, focusing instead on the international security dimension and demanding the withdrawal of occupation troops and the abolition of the guarantor system involving Greece, Turkey and the UK. He notes that Greece and Cyprus consistently stated in public and in the talks the need to abolish the outdated, post-colonial system of guarantees and withdraw Turkish troops from the island.
Tsipras also refers to the negotiating strategy of the Greek and Greek-Cypriot side, which foresaw that he would only join the process if there were strong indications of a positive outcome. He recalls a key coordination meeting on 14 December 2016 in Brussels with the President of Cyprus and his team, where they agreed without ambiguity on strategy and guidelines. He says he anxiously monitored developments, hoping for progress on security and guarantees that would justify travelling to Geneva.
Trying to engage more deeply, he invited then-Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım to Greece. Despite holding firm to Turkey’s positions, Yıldırım left, as Tsipras says, “a window” for an EU role in a future security framework in a federal Cyprus. The two agreed to meet at Crans-Montana “if conditions allowed for a solution.”
Tsipras recalls critical moments leading to collapse of the talks
On the Crans-Montana Conference, Tsipras argues that the submission of the Guterres Framework by the UN Secretary-General was a major success for Greece and Cyprus and could have formed the basis for a fair and viable settlement. He highlights the Secretary-General’s statement that the Treaty of Guarantee was “unsustainable” and should be replaced by a UN-based implementation mechanism involving Greece, Turkey and the UK. However, he says the Turkish side’s intransigence at the July 6 dinner, refusing to openly accept the framework as a basis for discussion, left no room for his or the Turkish PM’s participation and ultimately shut down any prospect of agreement, leading to failure.
Tsipras adds that Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu created momentary hope by delivering a message to Guterres that Turkey could discuss abolishing guarantees under conditions, prompting Tsipras to express readiness to travel to Crans-Montana. But, he says, then-Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades reacted cautiously and doubted the sincerity of the Turkish position.
Why the negotiations stalled despite initial optimism
Tsipras recounts that Anastasiades did not share his cautious optimism, possibly influenced by the state of negotiations on internal issues. That reluctance, he says, prevented an attempt at PM-level clarification of whether Turkey’s reported message was genuine or a negotiating bluff. A few hours later, at the July 6 dinner, Çavuşoğlu’s official stance was “entirely different” to what Guterres had conveyed. The Turkish refusal to discuss a withdrawal timeline or accept abolition of guarantees as a basis for talks, Tsipras concludes, led to the collapse of the Conference.
Featured Photo: lifo.gr
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