'Confederal settlement would be win-win for Cyprus'

LEFKOSA, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

A confederal settlement for the Cyprus issue would be a win-win for both Turkish and Greek Cypriots, an academic has said.

Professor Emeritus Mehmet Ozay was speaking at the Near East University in Lefkosa, the capital of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), on Wednesday.

Ozay, from Ontario-based Carleton University, said the gains of Greek Cypriots from such a settlement will include an area in the south administered by the Greek Cypriots without Turkish Cypriots.

“That is what [Greek Cypriot leader Nicos] Anastasiades wants, i.e. no power-sharing,” Ozay said.

He said there would be no economic burden for the Greek Cypriot side, the civil service would stay unchanged and each side would keep its own budget and public debt.

Ozay said the gains of the Greek Cypriot side from a confederal settlement would also include land settlement along with an agreed border and return of considerable land to original owners.

In that case, the guarantee and security system would also be updated and Turkish troops would only be present in the North in agreed, reduced numbers, Ozay added.

Turkish Cypriots gain

Ozay said the gains for Turkish Cypriots in case of a confederal settlement would have the legitimacy and international recognition of the “Turkish North”.

“Special ties with Turkey would continue in economy, security within an updated guarantee and security agreement,” he added.

Ozay said the benefits of a confederal solution for the Turkish Cypriots would also include political equality and no Greek Cypriot domination.

He added that a confederal settlement would bring peace at last and prosperity including the utilization of hydrocarbon resources.

Also speaking at the event, Gozde Kilic Yasin, head of the Cyprus Research Center, said the developments after 1960, changed the perception of two sides about security, common state and living together.

Yasin said the current state of affairs is appropriate for the international recognition of TRNC.

She added that TRNC has “nothing to lose” if it pursues international recognition of itself.

In 1974, following a coup aiming at Cyprus’ annexation by Greece, Ankara had to intervene as a guarantor power. In 1983, the TRNC was founded.

The decades since have seen several attempts to resolve the dispute, all ending in failure. The latest one, held with the participation of guarantor countries -- Turkey, Greece, and the U.K. -- ended in 2017 in Switzerland.

In 2004, in twin referendums, the plan of then-UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan was accepted by Turkish Cypriots but rejected by the Greek Cypriots.

Talks have focused on a federal model, based on the political equality of the Turkish and Greek Cypriot sides, but Greek Cypriots’ rejection of such a solution, including the Annan plan, led to the emergence of other models.

In a recent report, current UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also said that "new ideas" may be needed for a settlement on the island.