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Cyprus 1985-86 Draft Framework Exercise
At the January 1985 summit, UN officials presented a
draft
framework agreement for the establishment of a bizonal,
bicommunal
federal republic. The parties, according to many accounts,
had been
briefed on its contents but not directly involved in its
drafting.
Denktas indicated his willingness to sign the draft, on
the
understanding that details would be worked out in separate
talks.
However, Kyprianou declined to sign, saying he considered
the draft
a basis for negotiations but that such a commitment was
premature.
The collapse of the summit redounded to Turkish Cypriot
favor,
in the reactions of the news media and Cyprus's Western
friends. By
1990, however, Turkish Cypriots referred to the 1985
summit as a
regrettable Turkish Cypriot acquiescence to external
pressure, from
Turkey and the United States in particular.
The UN worked intensively with the two parties after
the
summit, on the assumption that a tactical misstep need not
undermine the considerable achievement of drafting an
outline
reflecting broad areas of agreement. Yet UN efforts in the
months
that followed showed the near-impossibility of bridging
the gaps;
drafts proved acceptable to one side or the other, but
never both.
In April 1985, a draft framework agreement won acceptance
by Greek
Cypriots and was rejected by the Turkish Cypriot side.
After
extensive consultations a new draft was promulgated; it
was
embraced by the Turkish Cypriots and rejected by the Greek
Cypriots.
Data as of January 1991
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