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Cyprus Prospects for Creation of a Federal Republic of Cyprus
The second half of 1990 saw little action in Cyprus
settlement
efforts, in large measure due to the Iraq-Kuwait crisis
and the
demands it placed on the UN and on much of the world
community.
Some in Cyprus found parallels between the Gulf situation
and
Cyprus, and hoped that the resolution of the Gulf crisis
would
renew international interest in a Cyprus settlement. Greek
Cypriots
saw in the world condemnation of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait
possible
new interest in pressing for removal of Turkish troops
from Cyprus,
and in using U.N. resolutions more effectively to resolve
outstanding disputes. Greek Cypriots also saw the
continued
withdrawal of Soviet troops from Eastern Europe as further
impetus
to bring Cyprus into conformity with these regional and
world
trends. At the same time, Turkey's pivotal role in the
Gulf crisis,
including its decision to close Iraq's oil pipeline and
its
importance as a staging area for Kurdish refugee relief,
appeared
to deepen some Western countries' support for Turkey, and
the
prospect for new pressures on Turkey were uncertain.
Turkish
President Turgut Özal did cite willingness to work on
Cyprus among
the features of a dynamic Turkish foreign policy he
envisioned in
the post-Gulf crisis period.
The two sides, at the end of 1990 had not disavowed
their
interest in UN efforts, and were aware of Pérez de
Cuéllar's strong
personal interest in seeing progress on Cyprus before his
retirement as secretary general in late 1991. Although no
formal
meetings between the two Cypriot leaders occurred, there
was a
slight increase in ministerial and nongovernment contacts
between
the two communities, which many considered helpful to
confidence
building. Continued work by the United States Special
Cyprus
Coordinator, Nelson Ledsky, and by UN officials kept the
two
communities engaged in thinking about settlement
prospects, with
the expectation that 1991 would be a more active year.
Data as of January 1991
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