5 January 2017, 2:01pm EETPaul Tugwell, Georgios Georgiou
- Officials say chance of ending frozen conflict best for years
- Geneva talks offer prospect of stability in turbulent region
TEKMOR Note: Our guess is that these talks will produce no concrete result. The two sides are as far apart as they ever were, despite the optimism that many of the players, with the UN leading the pack, speak of. Put simply, the majority Christians want enhanced integration, whereas the Muslim minority insists on a segragationist interpretation of the charter. Last, and one aspect that is kept a diplomatic secret, is what happens to the vital British military bases on the island (co-managed with the USA), with or without a solution, which are tightly linked to the 1960 arrangement that gave birth to the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus. We would not be surprised if Erdogan is going to Geneva merely to have his repeat Davos moment, against the leader of a far smaller nation than Israel, Cyprus.
