CHANGING THE FRAME: HOW WE TALK ABOUT THE CYPRUS

CONFIDENTIAL NICOSIA 001585

SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/27/2020
TAGS: PREL PGOV UNSC CY
SUBJECT: CHANGING THE FRAME: HOW WE TALK ABOUT THE CYPRUS
ISSUE

REF: SECSTATE 179318

Classified By: CDA Jane Zimmerman; Reason 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: Since the referenda on the Annan Plan in
April 2004, our rhetorical position on the Cyprus issue has
been clear and consistent. We support the UN SYG and his
Mission of Good Offices. We believe the Annan Plan
represented a fair and viable settlement. And, we want the
Greek Cypriot side -- as the rejecting party -- to articulate
its concerns "with clarity and finality" so that the SYG
might assess whether conditions warrant launching a new
effort to resolve the Cyprus dispute. While consistency is a
virtue, this message has been twisted by the Greek Cypriot
leadership and in the Greek Cypriot media to the point that
it is doing damage to our interests. We should look to
re-frame the way in which we talk about the Cyprus issue in
our public statements to limit the ability of the GOC and the
Greek language press to make mischief. Post recommends that
we limit ourselves to expressing support for the UN SYG and
his Mission of Good Offices, reinforcing our firm support for
a Cyprus settlement in the generic (rather than the Annan
Plan in the specific),and the importance of the Cypriots
themselves taking ownership of the settlement process.
Following delivery of the President's national day message
for Cyprus calling for a "comprehensive solution based on the
Annan Plan" (reftel),we should re-cast our public message
and emphasize our support for a solution to the Cyprus
problem under UN auspices. End Summary.


2. (C) A year-and-a-half after the referenda, our public
support for the Annan Plan as the specific basis for a Cyprus
settlement is undercutting our efforts to get the parties
back to the negotiating table. The Greek Cypriot leadership
has instrumentalized our public message to reinforce its own
credentials in defending Greek Cypriot interests from the
predations of foreign Turko-philes. President Papadopoulos
and his allies are making similar political hay from our call
for the Greek Cypriot side to articulate its concerns "with
clarity and finality." This language is no longer serving
our interests and we should consider how best to re-frame our
public message.


3. (C) The Greek Cypriot leadership and conservative
commentators have poisoned the well with respect to the Annan
Plan so effectively that any effort to defend the specifics
of the plan is easily dismissed as part of an Anglo-American
conspiracy to reward Turkey and punish Greek Cypriots.
President Papadopoulos uses U.S. support for the Annan Plan
-- and in particular any language suggesting the plan is
"uniquely balanced" -- as a foil for his own (as he would
have the public see it) stout defense of Cypriot Hellenism.
Our advocacy efforts on behalf of the Annan Plan in the
specific, as opposed to a Cyprus settlement in the generic,
is feeding the forces of reactionary conservatism on the
Greek Cypriot side who see political advantage in castigating
the plan as a sell-out of Greek Cypriot interests. The
debate over whether the Annan Plan is "a basis for
negotiations," "a basis for a solution," "a point of
reference," or "a point of departure" is sterile and
unproductive. We do not want to fight over this ground. The
simple fact is that there will need to be meaningful changes
to the UN settlement plan if it is to be made acceptable to
the Greek Cypriot side. We do ourselves no service by
pretending this isn't so.


4. (C) Similarly, the Greek Cypriot leadership is arguing
that it has met the SYG's call for "clarity and finality" in
the Greek Cypriot position. Papadopoulos has argued
effectively (at least in his own domestic context) that the
Tzionis mission to New York last May checked this box and
those who argue otherwise are simply carrying water for
Ankara. This line plays very well with the Greek Cypriot
public.


5. (C) Post recommends that we adjust our public rhetoric to
take these realities into account. We should continue to
express our unwavering support for the SYG and his Mission of
Good Offices. The Cyprus issue should remain where it
belongs, firmly lodged in a UN context, rather than migrating
to the EU agenda. Other core elements of our public message
should include:

-- The United States remains firmly committed to a Cyprus
settlement and we will work with all concerned parties in
pursuit of that goal;
-- Ultimately, it is not the United States, the UN or the EU
that will produce a Cyprus settlement. The initiative and
the ideas have to come from the Cypriots themselves. We
stand ready to support the parties in this process.



6. (C) Meanwhile, in our public discourse we should
de-emphasize our support for the Annan Plan specifically and
steer clear of language putting the onus on the Greek Cypriot
side to present changes. It is true that there is nothing
inherent in the Annan Plan that necessitated a Greek Cypriot
"no" in April 2004. The rejection of the plan was a function
of deliberate choices on the part of the Greek Cypriot
leadership. Even so, there is no utility in revisiting this
debate. Equally, it is true that the Greek Cypriots have not
presented positions to the UN that could reasonably be
considered to represent "clarity and finality" in their
thinking. Neither, however, is it in our interest to pick
this fight with the Greek Cypriot side. For the time being,
a minimalist message better serves our purpose.


7. (C) The President's national day message for Cyprus
(reftel) stresses U.S. support for a "just, lasting and
comprehensive solution in Cyprus based on the Annan Plan."
Post recommends that this message be the last public
endorsement of the Annan Plan as a seemingly exclusive option
for a settlement. Our message should simply stress U.S.
support for a "just, lasting and comprehensive solution in
Cyprus." This is something everyone can agree to. The final
clause specific to the Annan Plan represents -- in a Greek
Cypriot context -- fighting words.

ZIMMERMAN