The Eastern Med in a state of flux

Our neighborhood is changing. The most important development, which became evident last year, is the United States' reduced interest in the Eastern Mediterranean. If Washington does not return in the immediate future, Russia will rush to fill the vacuum, followed, perhaps, by China. The former powers who used to play a role in the region from the time of the Greek War of Independence are absent. Britain is a shadow of itself, with its visible presence contained to its bases on Cyprus; France and Germany have the great responsibility to manage the course and identity of the European Union, at a time when both face serious domestic challenges.

Yet the first serious indication of the fluidity regarding issues that concern Greece and Cyprus comes from the Turkish-occupied part of Cyprus. As expected, elections this Sunday resulted in victory for the National Unity Party (UBP),...