The power-sharing hurdle in the Cyprus talks

Will it be possible for the Turkish Cypriot president to produce a map showing his territorial offers for a settlement on Cyprus while not even an inch of progress has been achieved on replacing the "red" section regarding power sharing with a "black" one? If he does walk such a road, will it be possible for him to return to northern Cyprus still claiming that compromises were made but that the Greek Cypriots were made to concede to the Turkish Cypriot key demand of political equality and agree to a rotating presidency as well as the effective participation of Turkish Cypriots in governance?

In the first two days of the three-day "hatching period" before an international conference with the participation of the two sides on the island and the three guarantor countries, Greece, Turkey and Britain, is convened on Jan. 12, it was seen that Greek Cypriots were trying to backtrack from some of the convergences achieved over the past 19-month talks. On the thorny property issue, for example, where there are still considerable differences between the two sides, Greek Cypriots moved away from some of the convergences achieved. The two leaders could not establish a rapprochement on the issue and referred it to a working committee.

On the issue of political equality, the Greek Cypriot side apparently has difficulties comprehending why Turkish Cypriots are so "obsessed" with it. This heading which dominated the first two days of talks indeed addresses the very roots of the Cyprus problem as far as the Turkish Cypriots are concerned. If Greek Cypriots did not attempt to annihilate Turkish Cypriots because of their objection to the removal of the effective partnership articles from the 1960 constitution, there would be no Cyprus problem. Thus, from Turkish...