Dead end road?

The problem in Cyprus is not finding a resolution to the over 50-year-old power sharing quagmire between the two peoples of the island but to pretend as if a solution is wanted by a certain date. Is this an overstatement? Probably. But, if a settlement is wanted, why don't negotiators, the army of international mediators and others, such as the United Nations Security Council, Britain, the United States and Russia, prod the two sides on the island to make a return to the 1977-1979 mentality, first listing the overall guidelines to be followed and then agreeing on terminologies before filling in the gaps?

If there is anyone so naïve to the Cyprus issue to now ask what happened in 1977 and 1979, let me explain first. After the collapse of the sixth round of talks in Geneva in 1975 - during which the two sides discussed what kind of a settlement was needed on the island and discussed federation in length but failed to agree - there was a lull of about 18 months in the Cyprus talks. In 1977, Rauf Denkta? wrote to the U.N. secretary-general and asked for his help to arrange a high level meeting between him and Greek Cypriot leader Archbishop Makarios. As a result, in 1977 the two met and issued a four-point agreement, which for the first time included the creation of a bi-zonal and bi-communal federal Cyprus as the official target of the talks between the two politically equal communities on the island. That was the first time Greek Cypriots agreed to discuss federation. In 1979, after the death of Makarios, a second high level agreement was held, with U.N. mediation again, between Denkta? and new Greek Cypriot leader Spyros Kyprianou. The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to a bi-zonal and bi-communal federation, adding an "economic viability" description...