How the talk of hypocrisy played a role, Erciyuman’s weakness, and the presidential race that is now taking shape
While the overwhelming majority of Greek Cypriots may have applauded President Christodoulides, listening to him emotionally denounce Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as a hypocrite from the podium of the United Nations General Assembly, but the question that arose is: what good did all this do? Did anything change? Did it improve the already strained atmosphere between the key players in the Cyprus issue? And, most importantly, did it move the prospects for the ongoing dialogue forward?
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
The Final Blow
To be precise, the President’s aggressive approach seems to have dealt the final blow to the—already slim—hopes for a joint meeting between the UN Secretary-General and the Turkish Cypriot leader.
Realistically speaking, was there any chance that Erhurman could have attended such a meeting after the tension? Or was there even the slightest opening for him to tell Erdogan, “Despite everything that has happened, I will go. Am I eager for a solution?”
Especially at this time, when the Turkish Cypriot leader is facing a joint attack from Ankara and its officials in the occupied territories, in the run-up to the so-called elections on December 6, there was no way he would stand up to them. After all, he has proven to us that he is no Akinci.
This, of course, in no way absolves him of his own responsibilities, nor, of course, does it diminish the growing disappointment of the Turkish Cypriots, who supported him so that he would strive for a solution to the Cyprus problem. From the Turkish Cypriot side, then, the Cyprus issue fell by the wayside in the so-called elections. But what happened on the Greek Cypriot side?
The Dilemmas of a Weary Guterres
Sources in New York told “Alpha on Sunday” that during their meeting, President Christodoulides attempted to persuade Guterres to convene a trilateral meeting.
And this despite the fact that the UN Secretary-General had publicly stated he had no such intentions, while his valuable experience told him that even if he managed to bring them together, the outcome would once again leave him exposed.
The President used as his main argument the fact that a trilateral meeting had taken place with the previous Turkish Cypriot leader—a meeting, of course, that was safer for the Greek Cypriot side. This exposed Tatar from the outset—who remained fixated on the two-state solution until the very end—as well as Guterres himself, since he achieved absolutely nothing.
Erhurman is a different case. However, both the UN Secretary-General and the President knew that he would not commit to anything.
The President requested the meeting to discuss his latest proposals—which, of course, Erhurman is in no position to discuss.
Guterres’s response to Christodoulides was that he would try. And he did try. Although he knew that, especially given how things had unfolded following the speech by the President of the Republic of Cyprus, it would be difficult. As expected, the prospect of a trilateral meeting fell through.
And UN Secretary-General António Guterres is now called upon to make critical decisions to keep the Cyprus issue on life support, just when a solution seemed to be on the horizon.
The 2028 Presidential Elections
The Portuguese leader’s dilemma and uncertainty regarding the next steps are evident. As far as the Cyprus issue is concerned, Guterres seems more relieved that his term is ending than disappointed that he failed to resolve it. From here on out, he himself knows that this is impossible.
He clearly sees that not only the occupied territories but also the Republic of Cyprus are in pre-election mode. Guterres is no random figure. The same messages are coming from his associates, stating that the President’s Office and its supporters are taking a hard line toward the Turkish Cypriots, adopting a purely legalistic approach that, when applied by Nikos Christodoulides’ predecessors, simply exacerbated the situation.
In fact, officials at the United Nations have questioned how anyone can hope for progress while insulting Erdogan. Or how can one expect confidence-building measures when music festivals and children’s soccer tournaments are canceled by invoking laws? How can a positive atmosphere be expected when, on national anniversaries, military units from third countries are mobilized? And how can anyone see a glimmer of hope when Turkish Cypriot officials are not allowed to meet with diplomats?
Expectations plummeted following the incident at the Cyprus Forum, and ELAM’s intervention, which led to the departure of Harmanji and Prountzos from a bicommunal event, all for the sake of headlines.
All of this is obviously linked to the 2028 presidential election and the need to satisfy the far-right audience that is being called upon to support Christodoulides’ candidacy once again.
Welcome… to the presidential campaign
Tomorrow morning, the President of the Republic will meet with labor unions at 11 a.m.
At the Presidential Palace, everyone is ready to throw themselves into the big battle. The events will intensify even further, as will the discussions on the government’s agenda, while, according to information from “Alpha on Sunday,” even civil servants working in ministries have been enlisted to write speeches. Meanwhile, they are waiting to see what the other side will come up with. As for the long-suffering Cyprus issue, that can wait.
