UN Special Adviser Espen Barth Eide embarked on shuttle diplomacy late on Thursday evening in an attempt to get both community leaders to resume reunification talks after each side started a blame-game over who walked out from a meeting earlier in the day.
The Norwegian diplomat was scheduled to meet President Nicos Anastasiades at 7pm and then see Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci after that.
Uncertainty reigned on Thursday over the future of the talks as the two sides appeared unable to get past a controversial decision by parliament to commemorate the 1950 enosis (union with Greece) referendum, blaming each other for the interruption of a meeting between the leaders.
Early reports said Akinci had walked out of Thursday morning’s meeting with Anastasiades, but they were later denied.
Akinci said it was not him who had walked out but Anastasiades. The Cyprus News Agency reported that Akinci left during a short break in which Anastasiades had walked out of the room to have a smoke.
CNA said there had not been any tension between the leaders.
Akinci later said Anastasiades walked out while UN Special Adviser Espen Barth Eide was talking about the enosis issue, shouting “‘I have nothing further to say.’”
“It’s up to Anastasiades to reopen the door that he banged behind him in the middle of today’s meeting,” Akinci said.
The Turkish Cypriot leader said Anastasiades found the House decision wrong and “he should say this publicly”
“The door of the negotiations will open once the Greek Cypriot side corrects the mistake,” Akinci said.
In a live television address later on Thursday, Anastasiades expressed regret over the developments, saying the Turkish Cypriot delegation had left the meeting during a brief interruption.
“During a brief interruption, due to a disagreement between the UN and our side, the Turkish delegation left without reason,” the president said.
In an effort to create a climate that would allow mutual understanding and in expressing the concerns of the Turkish Cypriot community, Eide implied that they were possibly right or not, prompting Anastasiades’ reaction.
The president told Eide that it was not permitted, after being present for two years, to dispute the intentions of the Greek Cypriot side.
He added that UN officials had tried to convince the Turkish Cypriots to return but Akinci was uncompromising.
Before the interruption, Anastasiades said he had discussed in detail the reasons why the Turkish Cypriot side’s concerns over the parliament’s decision were unjustified.
The president spoke about the National Council’s unanimous decision on Monday reiterating that the solution being sought was neither enosis nor partition but one based on UN resolutions.
Anastasiades also talked about events in the north, like the invasion celebrations on July 20, that offended Greek Cypriots.
He said he remained focused on finding a viable and functional solution and urged Akinci to drop the pretexts and return to the negotiating table with a constructive disposition.
It had been expected that the morning meeting would be overshadowed by a vote in parliament last week for public schools in the Republic to commemorate a 1950 referendum on Enosis – union with Greece.
Akinci had said that he would raise the matter during the meeting.
UN Special Adviser Espen Barth Eide said on Wednesday that the current climate was not optimal for the talks and he hoped the leaders could clear the air during their scheduled meeting.
Late Wednesday, at a ceremony in Limassol, Anastasiades said it was inconceivable for anyone to question the Greek Cypriot side’s will to reach a solution for a bizonal, bicommunal federation after some 37 years of dialogue.
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