Qatar and Cyprus

The other day, I called a Turkish Cypriot academic friend of mine who has written several articles on the Cyprus issue.

"What do you say; do you think they will solve it this time?" I asked directly.

Ahead of previous similar peace talks, he would always resolutely say, "It will not be solved."

He was proven right all the time, including the 2004 referendum for the U.N.-brokered peace deal.

This time he surprised me and said, "This time they will solve it," but with one reservation. "If the British are willing to," he said. 

"The current situation looks like the one that preceded the London agreement. Just like then, today, there is also an effort to normalize Turkey's relations with the West. And Cyprus could be the key to this effort," he added. 

Will Turkish Armed Forces leave Cyrus and go to Qatar?

"Do you mean the Turkish government will pull back its soldiers and call back Turkish citizens?" I asked again. 

I was pondering the question on why an army trying to win a new front by opening a military base in Qatar would end its strategic military presence in Cyprus. 

And then I asked whether the Qataris invested in Turkish Cyprus, and whether or not they recognize Turkish Cyprus.

"They did not show much interest after the death of [late Turkish president Turgut] Özal," he said.

I checked previous minutes of the United Nations. Qatar has never pursued a policy independent from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on Turkish Cyprus.

Whatever stance the GCC took, Qatar endorsed it.

Speaking of the GCC, we should mention interviews conducted in Qatar by İpek Yezdani from daily Hürriyet.

She recently spoke to Abdulaziz bin Ahmed,...