Have Greek and Turkish Cypriots become more mature?
Kudret Özersay is a former Turkish Cypriot negotiator. He held the title of chief negotiator until last October when he was removed from duty after he announced he would run as a candidate in April?s presidential elections. Özersay, who had been involved in the negotiations since 2003, was replaced by Özdil Nami after Mustafa Ak?nc? won in the April elections.
Özersay shares his views about the ongoing negotiations on social media. One has to give him credit; although he voices criticism most of the time, he does not refrain from underlining what he sees as positive developments in the talks that have gained a speedy momentum following the election of Ak?nc?. Özersay recently shared on social media his views on one of the most intricate and thorny issues of the Cyprus problem: property. To my surprise I came across a short version of that long article on the website of the Turkish Cypriot Foreign Ministry.
Can you imagine an article of an opposition party criticizing Turkey?s Syria policy for instance published on the Turkish Foreign Ministry?s website? It?s an interesting sign of maturity, I told Turkish Cyprus? first female foreign minister. ?It is a sign of being open-minded. He is a former negotiator and he has been involved in negotiations for such a long time. His views are definitely worth listening [to],? replied Emine Çolak.
I guess Çolak is more of a technocrat than a politician, and probably that explains the situation, otherwise you don?t see that type of ?open-mindedness? anywhere in the world.
Properties, territories and guarantees are the three most challenging issues to be solved to reach a settlement on the island. Maturity or an open mind will be key to solving these issues.
From maturity I mean giving...
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