CYPRUS: T/C NEGOTIATOR CAUTIOUSLY POSITIVE ON NEW

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 NICOSIA 000210

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/SE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/20/2019
TAGS: POL PREL EAIR TU CY
SUBJECT: CYPRUS: T/C NEGOTIATOR CAUTIOUSLY POSITIVE ON NEW
PROPOSAL TO OPEN CROSSING POINT, G/CS NIX IT

REF: EMBASSY-EUR/SE EMAIL OF MARCH 13

Classified By: Ambassador Frank C. Urbancic, Reasons 1.4 (b),(d)


1. (C) Summary: Turkish Cypriot (T/C) Negotiator Ozdil Nami,
in a March 19 meeting with the Ambassador, dubbed a new UN
proposal to open the Limnitis/Yesilirmak crossing point as
"not beyond the realm of the possible." Under the new plan
-- which has still not been officially discussed between the
two sides -- Greek Cypriots (G/Cs) would supply electricity
to the T/C enclave/military base at Kokkina/Erenkoy, and T/Cs
would drop demands to bring in large amounts of fuel via G/C
territory. On other topics, Nami said that the Turkish
Cypriots were considering "make-safe" repairs on buildings on
their side of the Ledra Street crossing point to mitigate
dangers to pedestrians. He also called on G/Cs to abandon
efforts to delimit the "border" there and delay a full
scale-renovation of the Ledra passage, since delimitation --
a highly contested issue -- could only be achieved through a
comprehensive settlement. The T/C negotiator voiced
willingness to work with the G/Cs to allow eventual Turkish
Cypriot participation in the EU's Bologna Process, which aims
to facilitate academic cooperation and exchanges. Nami
admitted that the recent cancellation of an EU assistance
tender for the T/C community was not due to G/C arm twisting
on ports (as Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat had
reported to P-5 Ambassadors on March 4),but over disputed
property claims. Responding, the Ambassador encouraged Nami
to consider any reasonable proposal to open
Limnitis/Yesilirmak. He also unofficially raised with Nami
the necessity of improving coordination between Republic of
Cyprus and Turkish/T/C air traffic controllers using a
Eurocontrol/International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
recommendation to initiate the discussion. In a separate
conversation, G/C negotiator George Iacovou took a very hard
line on Limnitis. He told the Ambassador on March 24 that
the G/Cs will not make a counter-offer to the T/Cs on the
latest compromise plan: "We will not reward them," Iacovou
said. Ambassador encouraged Iacovou to reconsider, but he
was adamant in his position. End Summary.

UN Proposal for Limnitis Not Impossible
--------------


2. (C) T/C lead negotiator Ozdil Nami told the Ambassador on
March 19 that a new UN proposal to break the logjam over
opening the Limnitis/Yesilirmak crossing point in western
Cyprus was "not beyond the realm of the possible" --
otherwise, T/C leader Talat would have said so when UN
Special Adviser Alexander Downer first raised the idea with
him. (Note: Downer has floated with both sides the idea of
the G/Cs' supplying electricity to the former T/C enclave and
present military base at Kokkina/Erenkoy (near
Limnitis/Yesilirmak) in exchange for the T/Cs dropping their
demand to bring in large amounts of fuel via G/C territory
under UNFICYP escort, anathema to the Greek Cypriots and less
than ideal for the UN (Ref email). Ninety-five percent of
the fuel brought to Kokkina/Erenkoy -- about three tons per
week by sea -- is used to generate electricity.)


3. (C) Turkish Cypriots continued to wait for a concrete
proposal on Kokkina/Erenkoy from the Greek Cypriots, Nami
said. He complained that the two sides had not formally
discussed the compromise, which he had expected G/C
counterpart George Iacovou to raise at their March 13
meeting. Further, Nami claimed that Downer had been
"shocked" that Iacovou had not introduced the deal on March

13. When the UN envoy had tried to raise the issue, Iacovou
responded half-jokingly that the T/Cs "should demilitarize
the area or buy their gas at a nearby G/C village."


4. (C) Nami said that the T/Cs "very much" wanted to open the
crossing point, but needed assurances from the G/Cs regarding
access to and resupply of Kokkina/Erenkoy. He said it was
"unthinkable" that the Turkish Cypriots would agree to
opening the crossing point and then be denied access to
Kokkina/Erenkoy, just kilometers away. T/C demands in
addition to electricity included:

-- free access to Kokkina/Erenkoy for all "TRNC" citizens
(including those otherwise not considered Cypriot citizens by
the RoC who are, at present, denied entry) and

-- the right to overland resupply of non-lethal military

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supplies, including foodstuffs and enough fuel to run five
vehicles. (Note: Nami intimated that this resupply would also
be conducted under UNFICYP escort.)

The Ambassador encouraged Nami to give serious consideration
to any "reasonable proposal" along the lines of the
UN-suggested "electricity-for-fuel" swap that the G/Cs might
propose.


5. (C) Ambassador raised the issue at dinner with Christofias
and G/C Negotiator George Iacovou March 24. He told Iacovou
that, as the G/Cs were always admonishing, we had talked to
Turkey. We couldn't say definitively, but initial responses
were encouraging; would the G/Cs be making a counter-offer on
opening Limnitis/Yesilirmak? Iacovou was adamant that the
Greek Cypriots would not. He said the T/Cs had offered to
open it and they should do so, without strings attached. The
G/Cs would not discuss the arrangement again. There will be
no rewards for the T/Cs at Limnitis/Yesilirmak, Iacovou said.
(Comment: A disappointing response to say the least.
Ambassador will meet with Taye Zerihoun, UNFICYP head,
shortly after this is being written to look at options
(septel). G/Cs are apparently digging in their heels and
resisting progress on all CBMs. End Comment)

Ready to Tackle Ledra II Unilaterally
--------------


6. (C) Nami said that the Turkish Cypriots were ready to
begin work immediately on "Phase II" of the Ledra Street
crossing, namely make-safe improvements on the buildings on
either side of the narrow crossing. (Note: In April 2008,
when the Ledra Street crossing opened, UNFICYP told us that
such make-safe work ideally should be completed in three
months.) Nami rejected G/C proposals to fully refurbish the
buildings immediately, as that would entail delimiting the
area -- an almost impossible task absent a comprehensive
settlement, T/Cs believed. He threatened that if Iacovou
continued to make demands for delimitation, the Turkish
Cypriots, in the interest of safety, would unilaterally shore
up Ledra Street buildings on "their side" of the Green Line
(a disputed area itself).

"We are willing to find a solution on education"
-------------- ---


7. (C) The Ambassador informed Nami that RoC Minister of
Education Andreas Demetriou had asked him to relay
Demetriou's willingness to discuss new modalities to accredit
T/C universities (necessary if Turkish Cypriots are to
participate in the EU's Bologna Process, which aims to create
a "European Higher Education Area" by facilitating academic
cooperation and exchanges). Nami replied that he was always
willing to explore new solutions, but pointed out that T/Cs
had rejected an earlier G/C proposal because it violated the
long-time principle that education is strictly a communal
purview. Turkish Cypriots stuck by their proposal for a
bi-communal committee that would accredit all universities on
the island, not just those in the north, as under the G/C
proposal. Nami voiced readiness to discuss the issue further
with counterpart George Iacovou, however. (Note: Embassy is
also working separately to arrange an "accidental" meeting of
the G/C and T/C Education Ministers in a neutral location
hosted by a third party to explore options on accreditation.
End Note)

EU Solar Panel Tender still in Play
--------------


8. (C) In response to the Ambassador's query, Nami said that
the recent cancellation of an EU Financial Aid Regulation
tender for a solar panel farm had been canceled because the
electricity authorities in the north unwittingly had
identified Greek Cypriot-owned land for the project, not
former RoC state property. Nami said the T/Cs still wanted to
go forward with the project, which would have to be
re-tendered, and were trying to find a suitable site. (Note:
Talat, at a lunch he hosted for P-5 Ambassadors on March 4,
erroneously and angrily had claimed that the EU had canceled
the tender because of RoC pressure that supplies for the
project not be imported through "illegal" T/C ports.)

Shooting for Compromise to Ensure Travelers' Safety
-------------- --------------

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9. (C) Noting that he was not making a formal intervention,
the Ambassador nonetheless urged Nami to review a
Eurocontrol/International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
proposal to allow much needed communication between Turkish
and RoC air traffic control authorities in their overlapping
Flight Information Regions (FIRs). Currently, coordination
is non-existent, creating extreme dangers for aircraft and
civil aviation. (Note: Senior Flight Safety Foundation
officials recently informed the Embassy that there have been
20 near-misses in Cypriot airspace over the last five years
due to the refusal of Larnaca and Ercan Airport traffic
controllers to communicate directly and deconflict flight
path information.) The Ambassador noted that the safety of
U.S. citizens and all those who flew in and over Cyprus was
endangered by the status quo. He outlined a compromise plan
under which Larnaca officials would transmit information to
EuroControl in Brussels, which would then forward it to
Ankara and onward to Turkish Cypriot-administered Ercan (and
back to Larnaca, over the same path.) Nami acknowledged the
dangers, but claimed that the G/Cs regularly engaged in
"brinkmanship" by intentionally misdirecting planes. He
promised to bring the issue up with Talat, however.

Comment
--------------


10. (C) Nami once extolled his relations with the much older
Iacovou, but lately has been voicing ever-greater frustration
with his G/C counterpart. Many T/Cs and some in the
international community claim he is justified. Iacovou, they
argue, is delaying the implementation of a number of CBMs to
take revenge for the T/Cs' refusal to open
Limnitis/Yesilirmak unconditionally, a politically-sensitive
"deliverable" on which he and Nami allegedly had agreed, only
to have the TGS reportedly balk in September.
Urbancic