Press Review: The Cyprus Talks

The fate of Cyprus will be determined on April 24 in referendums on both the Turkish and Greek sides of the divided island after talks in Switzerland failed to bring agreement on UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's blueprint. In Greece, Kathimerini set out the variables: "If both sides vote yes [to the UN plan], a united Cyprus will be able to join the EU a week later on May 1. If either side votes no, only the Greek Cypriots will join."

There was little in the way of optimism in the press. The plan would "face a difficult test", said the Turkish Daily News, "with the Turkish prime minister fully endorsing the plan, the Turkish Cypriot side mostly expressing 'satisfaction' while Greece and Greek Cypriots remain 'disgruntled'".

In the Turkish paper Byegm, Murat Yetkin blamed Greek Cypriots for being "the least willing to reach a solution". The side's leader, Tassos Papadopoulos, was insulated by his knowledge that Greek Cyprus would join the EU regardless: "It has scored economic and political progress even as its Turkish neighbour has stagnated under a political and economic embargo."

The Financial Times urged EU leaders "to throw their full political weight behind the proposed deal, and campaign actively for yes votes ... This is a chance far too precious to be wasted." EU momentum was still the only hope of reaching a viable solution, agreed Kathimerini, but the paper was not surprised that the talks had failed. The UN plan went against international law, it said, and from that point of view the Greek-Cypriot rejection had been inevitable. "The Greek side must insist on the fact that the proposed deal is out of sync with fundamental EU values and principles," it said.

The English-language Cyprus Mail argued that hostility to the plan was fuelled by the Greek government, which had "no scruples about misinforming the public in order to avoid a settlement". But "we have not reached the end of the road yet ... The Greek Cypriots ... still have a vote".

The Independent urged Greek Cypriot leaders to support the plan even if it was "imperfect". Beyond the island itself, a no vote could see "prospects for a sound relationship between western Europe and Turkey set back, perhaps by decades. Do they really want to carry the blame for all that?"