Energizing Cyprus

The negotiations to find a fair and equitable solution to the Cyprus problem was resumed on February 11 after a two-year hiatus with a Joint Declaration of the Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders that provided an outline and main principles of the forthcoming negotiations. The US involvement was a well know secret at that point; but it is in the open now. Visit of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden to the island on May 21-22, 52 years after Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson visited the island in late August 1962, added a new dimension to the strong US support toward a comprehensive settlement.

While Biden’s visit officially aimed at promoting confidence-building measures between the two communities on the island, his real motivation was to urge both sides move along when all the interested outsiders, including the US, is waiting for the solution of the problem to go ahead with their planned energy developments in the eastern Mediterranean. The offshore discovery of hydrocarbons in the region has become an important game-changer. It became even more important after the Russian annexation of Crimea and threats to cut its gas supplies to Ukraine, thus to Europe. Hence the U.S. involvement.

Transmission of new energy sources to the European market would ease Europe’s dependency on Russia; weaken or at least balance the Republic of Cyprus’ strong economic and political connections with Russia: might provide a background to Turkish-Israeli reconciliation; and finally get rid of a 60-year headache in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The real question to ask at the moment should be whether the U.S. could find a way to convince all involved sides about value of a solution. Biden hinted at an enhanced role for a...