Delegates confident after start of FIFA Cyprus talks

An opening round of talks aimed at ending more than 50 years of deadlock in Cypriot football has ended with both sides confident of reaching a solution.

The two-hour meeting at the headquarters of world soccer's governing body FIFA on Thursday involved delegates from the official Cyprus FA and the non-official Cyprus Turkish FA.

The talks stopped short of considering concrete solutions to the impasse that has seen Turkish Cypriot players and clubs excluded from international competition since the founding of their breakaway association in 1955.

Instead, both sides agreed to meet again in Zurich on Oct. 27.

"The meeting resulted as expected, because the problem of football on the island of Cyprus is a long-standing one," Cyprus Turkish FA vice president Tahir Seroydas told Reuters.

"We knew it would not be possible to find an end solution in the first meeting but we are ready to make the necessary compromises and believe we will proceed and find a way."

The Turkish Cypriot enclave of about 240,000 people was carved out of territory seized by Turkey in an invasion in 1974 triggered by a brief Greek-inspired coup in Cyprus, and has only been officially recognised by Ankara.

"I think we have achieved the maximum that we could today according to the circumstances," Cyprus FA president Costakis Koutsokoumnis told Reuters.

"It is very delicate especially knowing how politicians can think and react but these talks were purely about football and how we can help the island in football terms.

"The atmosphere was excellent, there is no doubting the will that is there on both sides and I am confident something can be done."

FIFA to mediate in Cyprus row

World soccer's governing body FIFA will hold high-level talks on Thursday aimed at ending more than 50 years of deadlock in Cypriot football.

Convened by FIFA president Sepp Blatter, the meeting will involve delegates from the divided island's official football association as well as officials from the unofficial Cyprus Turkish football association.

Turkish Cypriot teams were involved in the founding of the Cypriot FA in 1934 but withdrew from the island's unified league in 1955 as disputes between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities worsened.

Following the establishment of the breakaway Turkish Cypriot enclave, a statelet recognised only by Ankara, teams and players based in the area have found themselves unable to participate in official international matches.

"We want to leave no stone unturned in our efforts to resolve this problem," FIFA's director of international relations Jerome Champagne told Reuters on Wednesday.

"We are not so preposterous as to believe that football can solve everything, make peace or destroy racism but there are thousands of examples where football has played a part, such as with the acceptance of Arab and Palestinian players in the Israeli national team.

"Our overall aim is to promote football everywhere in the world and right now the Turkish Cypriot players are suffering from not being able to play outside their home, although they do have a strong domestic league."

The Cypriot FA insisted ahead of Thursday's meeting that any agreement would have to be based on Turkish Cypriots joining their organisation.

"If they join the Cyprus FA we can discuss the unification of football," vice-president Elias Pitsillides told Reuters on Wednesday.

"They must be registered as clubs as the other clubs and submit an application with their regulations which the board of directors will examine for approval and apply to the club regulator."

The Cyprus Turkish FA has repeatedly rejected calls to submit to the official organisation, arguing that the Cypriot FA does not represent their region.

FIFA's own statutes ensure that a separate Turkish Cypriot FA will not be up for discussion at Thursday's meeting which will be opened by Blatter and chaired by FIFA and UEFA vice-president Geoff Thompson.

"Article 10 of our statutes says that any football association may become a member of FIFA provided that it represents a country which is an independent state recognised by the international community," Champagne said.

"We are football people and it is clear we cannot go faster than the music but what we can do is check whether there is some football solution.

"Thursday's meeting could last just half an hour if it erupts along the old political stances or it could really open a process towards a solution. Until the meeting starts it is impossible to say which way it will go."

Syria to launch direct ferry tours to Turkish Cyprus

Efforts and calls by the Organiza-tion of the Islamic Conference (OIC) for easing of international isolation of the Turkish Cypriots have yielded a significant result as Syria and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) prepare to launch direct ferry tours on schedule between the two countries.

A group of Syrian businessmen paid a visit to Turkish Cyprus in March to discuss ways to establish business cooperation. Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Turgay Avcı announced on Friday that the tours would start on the first day of the upcoming holiday, Ramadan Bayramı, which is Oct. 12. A ferryboat will set sail from the Gazimağusa (Famagusta) Port in northern Cyprus to the Port of Lattakia of Syria for a daily promotional tour.

Following intense meetings between the Turkish Cypriot and Syrian officials and chambers of maritime, commerce, industry and tourism of the two countries as well as mutual official visits, efforts for lifting the "unfair" isolation implemented on the KKTC by the Greek Cypriot administration of southern Cyprus have yielded a "good and positive consequence," Avcı told reporters yesterday at a press conference held in Lefkoşa (Nicosia).

"Regular relations established by the secretariat of the OIC have had a positive impact on our relations with the OIC member states. Relations have begun with a lot of the countries which previously avoided the KKTC," Avcı said.

Last month, Avcı paid a visit to Syria as part of a series of visits being paid to members of the OIC, which has long been urging Muslim countries to keep their earlier promises to ease the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots. Earlier this year Avcı paid visits to Pakistan and Kuwait.

In April, during an official visit to Ankara, Kuwait's Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser al-Mohammad al-Sabah said the KKTC could open a trade office in his country. Kuwait's move followed earlier steps taken by three other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

"With these tours being started after an almost 30-year-long interruption, there will be great developments in our relations with Syria in every field, particularly in economics, culture and tourism. Existing relations between businesspeople, the private sectors and non-governmental organizations of the two countries will be greatly accelerated," Avcı said, noting that the travel agencies involved with the boats would announce in the coming days how many tours would be launched weekly.

The close relationship between the two countries, especially in fields of commerce and tourism, will spark greater interest from Syrian students in studying at universities in the KKTC, the prime minister stressed.

"This concrete development maintained with Syria encourages us with further initiatives that we will take in the coming days concerning other regional countries," Avcı said.

Earlier this week, Turkish President Abdullah Gül, during a visit to the KKTC, urged the international community to keep its promises to ease the international isolation of the Turkish Cypriots as a reward for their will for reunification, which was displayed clearly in simultaneous referenda held in April 2004.

Turkey wants fix to Cyprus dispute: Gul

A fair and just resolution of the Cyprus dispute can only be reached through the acceptance of the reality that there are two peoples, two states, two languages and two religions on the island, Turkish President Abdullah Gul said late Tuesday.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Turkish Cypriot President Mehmet Ali Talat in Lefkosa, Gul said that Turkey was doing all it could to bring about an end to the dispute on Cyprus and that he believed that one day peace would prevail on the island.

Gul said that his talks with Talat earlier in the day had been fruitful and had focused on the current situation on Cyprus and ways to further strengthen co-operation between the two countries. He also blamed the Greek Cypriots for holding back progress in ending the dispute.

“The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) has done and is doing all it can to bring a just, permanent and comprehensive peace to the island,” said Gul.

“By voting ‘Yes’ at a previous referendum, the Turkish Cypriots showed their sincerity in desiring a lasting solution. Turkish Cypriots are not the side that wants a deadlock in the island.”

The Turkish President also rejected suggestions by the Greek Cypriot administration that the Turkish Armed Forces were an impediment to peace on the island and were an occupying force.

“The Turkish Armed Forces brought peace to the island of Cyprus,” he said.

“It is a symbol of peace.”

Gul also vowed that Turkey would continue to provide support to the TRNC economy, which is restricted by an international embargo, put in place in the wake of the 1974 intervention on the island by the Turkish military.

“We will be on the side of our brothers and sisters in Cyprus by providing security, defending the right cause of the Turkish Cypriots and from an economic point of view,” he said.

Turkey can appeal to the International Court of Justice

Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos said here Friday if Turkey believes that its occupation of the island’s northern third is legal, then it can appeal to the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

On Thursday, the Cypriot government issued a statement in reply to the reactions of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Turkish Cypriot leadership to remarks by President Papadopoulos, who said in a televised press conference on Tuesday that the Turkish army was an enemy of Cyprus.

In statements before departing to London, on his way to New York to address the UN General Assembly, the President said yesterday’s statement was made in response to the representative of the Turkish Armed Forces and the Turkish Cypriot side that the occupation forces are legally in Cyprus, based on the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee.

“Our view is well known, the presence of the Turkish occupation forces and the Turkish invasion, cannot be legally based on the Treaty of Guarantee, and their presence in Cyprus, is, in any case, illegal. We said that if Turkey believes otherwise, then it can appeal or agree to appeal to the International Court of Justice in The Hague”, the President remarked.

However, he said it is also well know that Turkey does not recognize the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice, therefore to make an appeal, an agreement should be made to note down the differences between the two countries and the whole issue to be referred to The Hague.

Consequently, we cannot proceed with an appeal before this agreement is reached, the President added.President Papadopoulos also said that during his meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader earlier this month, it was evident that Mehmet Ali Talat was trying to evade from the 8 July Agreement.

“We believe that the July 8 Agreement, just as it was set out to be implemented based on the ideas of former Under-Secretary-General Gambari’s letter of 15 November 2006, contained many positive elements for us”, Papadopoulos remarked.

He said the most important of these positive elements is “that the overall settlement of the Cyprus problem should come from the discussions of the working groups. And in our view, since then, Turkey has been trying to deviate from this agreement, and this was Mr. Talat’s apparent effort during our recent meeting”.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. President Papadopoulos and Talat agreed on 8 July 2006, during a meeting in Nicosia in the presence of Gambari, to begin a process of bicommunal discussions on issues that affect the day-to-day life of the people and concurrently those that concern substantive issues, both contributing to a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem.

In New York, President Papadopoulos will meet UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

He will also hold meetings with the Permanent Members of the UN Security Council and other leaders. Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou Markoullis will also travel to New York for meetings with her counterparts.

Rising tennis star set to defect to Cyprus

A PROMISING teenage tennis star has been caught in the crosshairs of two countries, with both Cyprus and Australia battling it out for his signature.

Seventeen-year-old Andrew Thomas is listed on the International Tennis Federation website as an Australian, but he played the junior boys’ singles tournament at the US Open in New York two weeks ago as a Cypriot, where he advanced to the final 16.

Thomas, who was born and raised in Sydney, is a former world under-14 champion and was to be offered a full-time scholarship worth $125,000 by the Australian Institute of Sport for coaching, accommodation and travel costs.

His mother, Coral, was born in Cyprus and his father Tom’s grandparents are also from the island. Thomas has previously been a hitting partner for Cyprus’ greatest tennis export, 2006 Australian Open runner-up Marcos Baghdatis. The President of the Cyprus Tennis Federation, Philios Christodoulou told the Mail that Thomas, “first expressed his wish to represent Cyprus during Wimbledon this year and he met up with Baghdatis and his coach,” he said.

“They then came to me saying that Andrew is a very talented young player.”

According to Christodoulou, “Andrew was very keen to sign a contract straight away but we needed the approval of Tennis Australia, who were not keen on letting him go.”

According to The Australian newspaper, “while TA wishes Thomas well, behind the scenes there are serious doubts he has made the best choice.”

Chief Executive Steve Wood said in a statement: “While we respect his decision, Tennis Australia is extremely disappointed Andrew Thomas chose to play for Cyprus in New York.”Wood said Baghdatis and the Cyprus Tennis Federation had provided funding for Thomas’ US Open campaign since TA had turned down his request for a cash hand-out.

“Cash hand-outs do not support the philosophy of our program, which is about resourcing environments and funding opportunities,” Wood said.

“In Andrew's instance those opportunities have included and, form permitting, would have continued to include, international tours and playing with representative teams.”

Christodoulou said that Thomas spent two weeks on the island in July with Baghdatis and also arranged to get a Cypriot passport.“His Australian sponsors have threatened to withdraw their support and pressure has also been put on his parents, by the Australians,” said Christodoulou, who added that the Cyprus Tennis Federation, “is willing to take over his expenses in order for him to participate in future tournaments.”

Despite Thomas, who is ranked 27 in the world under-18 category, representing Cyprus in New York, his future is still in limbo, and he has since returned to Sydney.

“He doesn’t know what to do now and we don’t know whether we are going to lose him,” said Christodoulou.“It is the wish of the Cyprus Tennis Federation and the government for Andrew to represent Cyprus.”Should he wish to continue representing the island, Thomas will have to serve a period of residency in Cyprus before he is qualified to play Davis Cup or represent Cyprus at the Olympic Games.

On his part, Thomas told Sydney radio station 2GB that playing Davis Cup for Cyprus was his aim.

“I'm seeing Marcos now in World Group two and looking to do even better in the next couple years," he said. “I like the environment in Cyprus, as it’s a small community with nice people. I love it there, so I will probably head back there.”

He added that Tennis Australia, “have not been supporting me as much in the last couple years, so I decided to play for Cyprus."

We have sovereignty, we (most probably) have oil, but we have no grey matter in our heads

By Nicos A Rolandis

OIL AND energy in a wider sense constitute the strongest economic power on our planet today. Eighty-three million barrels of crude oil are consumed every day, 30 billion barrels per year, of a total value of $2 trillion.

Millions of people are occupied worldwide with the exploration, development, production, refining, transportation and distribution of oil and other energy products. Big players: the United States, Russia, Europe, China. What about Cyprus?

We do not even qualify for the category of amateurs. Despite this and instead of behaving with modesty, prudence and care and of keeping the necessary balances in an unassuming manner on a subject which may be rife with dangers and potentially explosive, we had the fallacious impression that we might have things our way and that we might impose the solution of our choice on account of our sovereignty.

In reality, we wanted to deprive the Turkish Cypriots of the oil bonanza. We shunned Turkey and her menacing attitude, even if such an attitude was illegal. We sat comfortably back, anticipating the oil colossuses, who would be jostling to enter our front door.

But, alas, the colossuses did not turn up.I predicted this deplorable outcome on a number of occasions during the past two years, taking into account our attitude towards the Turkish Cypriots. Actually, this is the inference to which anyone with a few grams of grey matter in his skull would have been led.

It is a question of simple logic: Where would the colossuses come from?
1. Would the western oil behemoths, like ExxonMobil, BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Total, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ENI, Repsol, etc, each one of which has a size 10 to 25 times larger than the economy of Cyprus, ever jeopardise their huge interests or risk a clash with Turkey for the sake of the Cyprus oil uncertainty? Could they ever act in such a frivolous and thoughtless manner?

2. The Russian titans, which are effectively controlled by the Kremlin, like Gazprom, Rosneft, Lukoil, SurgutNeftegaz, Sibneft, TNK and others have not displayed any interest in overseas oil exploration anywhere so far (with the exception of a limited activity by Lukoil). Consequently, how could they ever be interested in Cyprus, a frontier area, in a venture which might also incur the risk of damaging relations between Russia and Turkey in the sectors of oil, electricity, natural gas and energy? (It should be noted that Russia supplies almost all the natural gas requirements of Turkey).

I still recall when then Foreign Minister George Lillikas, in a show-off endeavour, had a meeting in Moscow with representatives of 25 Russian oil companies, which supposedly were very interested in Cyprus. They had moved nowhere outside Russia, but they were interested in Cyprus! Their big interest ended up in a big zero.

3. China: the Yellow Dragon. She has $1.4 trillion in cash in her pocket, an amount not matched in history by any country or entity ever before. Would it be possible that the state-owned oil majors of such a mighty country, like PetroChina, Sinopec, CNOOC would ignore China’s vast interests with Turkey, a country which, inter alia, is closely connected with the oil producing countries of Central Asia, which are China’s energy partners?

China has recently unilaterally cancelled a contract to supply military equipment to Cyprus in order to satisfy Turkey. It has now brought us down to earth again by ignoring us in our oil ambitions.

Unfortunately our possible oil reserves suffer from the same incurable malady which has afflicted the Cyprus problem as well.

A disease of the brain: “Arrogancitis” – a stupid feeling of self-importance, an absolute distancing from realism.We sweep under the carpet and we do not want to admit the fact that we (like the Turkish Cypriots) have contributed to the present predicament of Cyprus through our many blunders, omissions and crimes of the first 14 years of the Republic of Cyprus.

And when someone, acting in a haughty manner, conceals his own mistakes and divorces himself from truth, he inevitably reaches the wrong conclusions about justice. This is how the people of Cyprus on both sides of the dividing line have been misguided over the years; they have been taught by politicians to base their judgment on the sins of the other community only and to hush up their own. This is also why the Cyprus problem has remained unresolved for so long…

Until a certain moment in time when a Mr Matsakis (most popular MP of his party in Limassol and the only member of the European Parliament elected by the President’s party) emerges and suggests the partition of Cyprus, the creation of two states.

And why should he not? Mr Matsakis simply reflects the deeds of his own government.Through a number of articles, I suggested a methodology, under the auspices of the United Nations, on the basis of which the Turkish Cypriots might also benefit in a fair way from the possible oil reserves of Cyprus. Such a process would also move away the Turkish threat.

Of the Cypriot political parties, only AKEL supported that the Turkish Cypriots would be entitled to a share of the Cyprus oil. Some other parties kept silent. There are also those who are strongly opposed, because, as they put it, we still suffer the Turkish occupation and the Turkish Cypriots still exploit our properties. They argue as if Hellenism and the Greek Cypriots had been saints, innocent and sinless in the 1960s. As if the 1974 coup d’état (for union with Greece) was executed by extraterrestrials. As if we Greek Cypriots are not to blame when we rejected over the past 33 years every initiative on Cyprus proposed by four UN Secretaries-general (Waldheim, Perez de Cuelliar, Boutros Ghali and Annan), all of which were unanimously approved and endorsed by the UN Security Council, and all of which were contemptuously rejected by us.

With such a mentality, we shall never recover our oil, if it exists. Part of the oil will be pumped by multinationals working in the area on the basis of agreements with other countries. The one or two small companies which showed an interest in the Cyprus bid round will not manage to face off Turkey.

They will invoke “force majeure” and they will depart.With such a mentality, the Cyprus problem will never be solved either.

Besides, one wonders what is left for there to be resolved. Partition is gradually sprawling all over in recent years, supported by a large chunk of the population.

After all, have we not noticed what happened in Greece the other day? In a three-hour TV election debate, none of the six candidates for Prime Minister, and none of the six journalists present, uttered a single word about the Cyprus problem.

And why should they do so? Why should they bother if we ourselves are not really interested and we simply waste our time with the empty July 8 agreement and other absurdities?

Soccer greats in Turkish Cyprus are stuck at home

He is only 16 years old, but Tunc Ozgurgun may have already reached the pinnacle of his soccer career, falling foul of politics in ethnically partitioned Cyprus.

A rare talent, Ozgurgun was scouted from an early age to play for minors in Turkish Cypriot first division team Cetinkaya and at the end of last season was promoted to the A team.

But Tunc and others like him may never have the chance of developing to their full potential at Cetinkaya for as long as politics continues to drive Cyprus apart, and cast a long pall over the sport.

Turkish Cypriot teams are barred from participating in any official game outside the narrow confines of northern Cyprus, a breakaway statelet recognized only by Ankara.

"These kids have so much talent, but they don't have ambition because they know it will take them nowhere," said Cetinkaya chairman Zeki Ziya.

The enclave of about 240,000 people was carved out of territory seized by Turkey in an invasion in 1974 triggered by a brief Greek-inspired coup in Cyprus. Peace talks have repeatedly floundered, and the stalemate is hurting Turkey's European Union accession prospects.

50 YEARS IN THE COLD

Turkish Cypriot football teams have not participated in any international games for more than half a century, since the first seeds of conflict were sown between Greek and Turkish Cypriots.

Only Greek Cypriot teams now represent Cyprus in international competitions, a by-product of the conflict which left Greek Cypriots representing the island's internationally recognized government.

Turkish Cypriots rule out any participation in the Cyprus FA, comprised only of Greek Cypriots, because they say it does not represent them.

That exclusion is due to be discussed by the sport's governing bodies FIFA and Uefa in Zurich on September 20.

Northern Cyprus has 99 professional teams. A wildly popular sport, Turkish Cypriot teams rarely, if ever, have an opportunity to compete with outsiders.

A scheduled friendly between Cetinkaya and England's Luton Town was scuppered in July because of Greek Cypriot sensitivities

Tunc Ozgurgun is upholding a long tradition in his family, even if his father and grandfather's ambitions were snuffed out because of politics. Both played for Cetinkaya.

Ozgurgun's father Mehmet Ali, now 40, is far from optimistic about Tunc's prospects.

"I am worried about my son. He is a very talented player, but I don't know how far he will get under these conditions," told Reuters.

Tunc has ambitions, but has no illusions that the obstacles to his career prospects will be removed any time soon.

"If nothing happens I'll continue playing, but without big dreams. It'll be just for the sport," he said.

Turkish Cypriots express discontent with Russians

They do not need to take the place of the Greek Cypriots

The Turkish Cypriot Presidency said that the Turkish Cyprus side was bothered by Russian diplomats behaving like ‘Greek Cypriot Diplomats’” in UN Security Council meetings. The Presidential Spokesman said: “Russia does not need to take the place of Greek Cypriots and get involved with the issues related to the details of the Cyprus Problem.”

“Like the Spokesperson of the Greek side”Spokesman Ercakica pointed to the fact that northern Cyprus is highly disturbed by Russian diplomats acting like “Spokespersons of the Greek Cypriot side” in talks related to Cyprus in the UN.

He further continued by saying: “They are eager to bring up issues that they don’t know in detail, in Security Council meetings.”
While pointing out that what they went through concerning the Yesilirmak Gate incident, he said that the Russians did not need to act like this.

Nesteronko unhappyIn a statement in the Greek Cypriot newspaper Fileleftheros, Russia’s Ambassador to Cyprus, Andrey Nesterenko mentioned Moscow’s discontent with Turkish Cypriot President Mehmet Ali Talat’s statements in the Russian magazine ‘Expert’.

While expressing his discontent with Talat’s comments against Russia, Nesterenko also claimed that the statements were not only geared towards Russia but also towards other countries and added that it is impossible for him to accept the accusations. The Ambassador disagreed when Talat stated: “Russia is inhibiting the development of Turkish Cypriots” and said that Russia’s attitude towards the Cyprus Problem has always been clear and said that “They did not even hint at trying to abash Turkish Cypriots.”

Nesterenko stated that they are acting within the framework of the Security Council’s decisions and added that Russia’s standing is in favour of Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots finding a solution to the Cyprus Problem together, since they will be the ones who will be living with the solution.

“Why are we not discontent with US?”

In response to Nesteronko’s attempts to pull other UN Security council members to his side, Cyprus Turkish Presidency Spokesman Ercakica said: “The US also states that they are behind or supportive of Security Council decisions. Why are we unhappy with Russia and not with the USA? While reports that were handed to the Security Council are being discussed or decisions are taken regarding Cyprus, Russian diplomats go into details and try to take the Greek Cypriot attitude further, trying to result in decisions. This is what we are unhappy with.”

Talat’s interviewIn the interview written by Olga Vlasova in the September 2007 edition of the liberally inclined ‘Expert’ magazine whose weekly circulation is about 90,000, Turkish Cypriot President Mehmet Ali Talat answered the question “Have there been any changes in relations with Russia in the last years?” as follows:

“Unfortunately there were no positive improvements in this area. Russia is like a giant transatlantic liner for which it is very difficult to change its route. As far as I remember, we last got together with Russian Minister of Foreign affairs Sergey Lavrov in Istanbul, after the referendum in the spring of 2004. After that time, we never met again and I can say that Russia’s attachment to the solution of the Cyprus Problem has completely extinguished. It is not easy for me to say these to you but today, in relation to every issue concerning us, including the UN Security Council, Russia generally acts as an ally of Greek Cyprus. I think it is not nice for such a big country as Russia to act in this manner. Besides we very well know that, if Russia changes its attitude on northern Cyprus, the solution to the Problem can be reached very quickly”.

Greek Cypriot Government files objection to European Court

Southern Cyprus has lodged an objection to a decision by the European Court of Human Rights to accept the appointment of two Turkish Cypriot judges, who are serving in the “illegal Turkish Cypriot regime, in northern Turkish occupied part of the country.”

“We have filed an objection regarding this decision by the Third Section of the Chamber,” Government Spokesman Vassilis Palmas told CNA on Tuesday, invited to give an initial reaction to the decision.

Palmas, who indicated that there may be more comments on the part of the government on this issue, also said that Greek Cypriot Government respects judgments of the Court. The Third Section of the Chamber of the Court, comprising seven judges, took the decision on Thursday of last week and this was communicated to interested parties this Tuesday.

“The Third Section of the Chamber rejected an objection by the Cyprus government concerning the participation of Mr M. Hakki and Mrs G. Eronen as the ad hoc judges designated by Turkey,” the decision noted.

The two Turkish Cypriots were put forward by Ankara, whose appointed judge to the Court had retired, as its representative judges to the European Court.

Hakki has been appointed to hear 38 cases against Turkey relating to property of Greek Cypriots in Turkish occupied Cyprus and Eronen is set to hear 9 cases concerning the issue of missing persons in Cyprus.

Cyprus rivals still far apart after rare talks

NICOSIA (AFP) — Rival Greek- and Turkish-Cypriot leaders held a rare face-to-face meeting on Wednesday, but in three and a half hours of talks they failed to make headway on ending the island's 33-year division.

Neither Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos nor Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat took reporters' questions after the encounter on neutral ground in the UN-patrolled buffer zone.

And in separate press conferences on home soil afterwards, the two leaders spelt out their continuing sharp differences over the best way forward after Papadopoulos led Greek Cypriot voters in rejecting a UN reunification plan in 2004.

UN mission chief Michael Moeller, who hosted the meeting at his residence, issued a brief and carefully worded statement praising the "constructive atmosphere" of the talks.

But he was unable even to announce a date for a new meeting.

The two leaders "agreed to continue their contacts through the United Nations and to meet again when appropriate," he said.

Afterwards, the two men revealed that they had disagreed sharply over how to implement the twin-track process they had thrashed out at their last meeting in July 2006.

Papadopoulos made clear that he considered the technical committees foreseen by that agreement as vital to preparing the way for effective negotiations on the substantive issues involved in reuniting the island.

Talat countered that that was a pretext for delay and that he had detected no willingness on the Greek Cypriot side to get down to serious talks.

Papadopoulos, who faces a re-election battle next February in which his two main challengers have traditionally been stronger supporters of reunification, accused the Turkish Cypriot leader of wanting a "variation" from what had been agreed in July.

"He wants talks to continue immediately without the committees, or for the role of the committees to be limited to a purely technical level of listing the headings to be discussed," Papadopoulos charged.

He warned that any shortcircuiting of the preparatory committees would "not speed up the process but lead us quickly to the realisation that we have reached deadlock."

But Talat, who led Turkish Cypriots in supporting the 2004 reunification plan by a wide margin, accused Papadopoulos of blocking any move to accelerate the pace of negotiations to counter a mounting slide towards permanent partition.

"We observed that there was no psychological preparedness for the opening of comprehensive negotiations," Talat said.

He said he ready to enter such talks "tomorrow" and had even proposed a timetable to complete the work of the preparatory committees by late November to pave the way for a comprehensive settlement by the end of next year.

"But they rejected any time limit."

Former colonial power Britain, which retains two sovereign military base areas on the island, has also expressed mounting frustration with the pace of reunification efforts.

"We very much hope that those talks will be entered into with real openness and determination on both sides," Foreign Secretary David Miliband said ahead of Wednesday's meeting.

The Greek Cypriot vote in the 2004 referendum meant that Cyprus joined the European Union later that year still a divided island.

EU law does not extend to the breakaway north of the island, which is recognized only by Ankara, meaning that Turkish Cypriots are denied the full benefits of the island's membership.

Cyprus has been divided along ethnic lines since 1974 when Turkish troops invaded its northern third following a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at uniting the island with Greece.

Rival Cypriot leaders meet in bid to revive peace push

Rival Greek- and Turkish-Cypriot leaders gathered for rare face-to-face talks on Wednesday, raising hopes of a revival of the flagging UN process to reunite the divided island.

The meeting between Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat on neutral ground in the UN-patrolled buffer zone is aimed at making progress towards ending 33 years of partition.

When they last met on July 8, 2006, the two agreed a twin-track process to pave the way for peace talks in what the United Nations hailed as a "historic" breakthrough.

But the agreement has been gathering dust ever since, and Talat warned recently that the eastern Mediterranean island risked permanent partition.

Papadopoulos, head of the island's internationally recognised government, said on Tuesday that a resolution of the Cyprus problem "remains our first and most urgent priority".

"Our purpose is to break through the deadlock and expeditiously move forward with the implementation of the July 8 process," he said.

Diplomats say the fact the two will meet in the same room for only the second time since 2004 is significant.

"The absence of dialogue on Cyprus has been extremely damaging," a European diplomat told AFP. "The meeting has to be welcomed in the hope it will lead to real progress -- it provides an opportunity to improve the climate."

Wednesday's meeting was being held at the Nicosia residence of UN mission chief Michael Moeller, whose only comment on the eve of the talks was "I am always optimistic."

Talat, whose breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is recognised only by Ankara, told Turkey's Anatolia news agency on Sunday he hoped there would be a positive outcome.

But he also warned there was "no question of giving way on the fundamental principles of political equality for the Turkish Cypriots and Turkey continuing as a guarantor power on the island."

Former colonial power Britain, which has expressed frustration with the deadlock on the island since Greek Cypriots voted down a UN reunification plan in 2004, welcomed the new talks but said both sides needed to enter them seriously.

"We very much hope that those talks will be entered into with real openness and determination on both sides," Foreign Secretary David Miliband said on a visit to Ankara.

Analysts were wary of raising expectations, and said the price of failure could set the peace process back indefinitely as the world grows ever weary of an issue seemingly resistant to resolution.

"The consequences of failure at the meeting or in the coming months will only impact on the two communities and the island generally," said Tim Potier, assistant professor on international law and human rights at Cyprus's Intercollege.

"It's better for expectations to be lowered and the front door left open for further discussions," he told AFP.

Cyprus has been divided since Turkish troops invaded the island's northern third in 1974 following a Greek Cypriot coup backed by the military junta in Athens aimed at union with Greece.

And with little movement on the issue for more than three years, fears have been raised that permanent division is the only workable solution.

Talat said public opinion in the north had hardened since the 2004 referendum in which Turkish Cypriots backed reunification by a wide margin while Greek Cypriots overwhelmingly opposed it.

"The division is deepening. There are opinion polls which indicate that the majority of Turkish Cypriots are in favour of the two-state solution: permanent partition," Talat told Britain's Daily Telegraph last month.

Among Greek Cypriots, Euro MP Marios Matsakis caused a furore last week when he dared to suggest that for his community too partition was the best way forward.

The maverick politician was lambasted for arguing that a two-state solution was preferable to a Cyprus settlement -- based on a loosely-tied federation -- as envisaged in the UN blueprint Greek Cypriots rejected three years ago.

Dialogue starts in Cyprus amid mixed feelings

Turkish Cypriot side expects the meeting between Talat and Papadopoulos that comes after a 14-month break to produce results but warns the situation on the island will be complicated in the event of no dialogue

Before today's rare meeting between Cypriot leaders to break the deadlock in talks on the divided island, the Turkish Cypriot side delivered optimistic messages but warned that absence of dialogue will further complicate efforts for a settlement to the Cyprus dispute.

“It has been 14 months since the July 2006 meeting of the two leaders and the situation on the island got even worse,” Hasan Erçakıca, spokesman for Turkish Cypriot President Mehmet Ali Talat, told the Turkish Daily News yesterday.

He admitted that the absence of dialogue in Cyprus was damaging, pointing to a number of difficulties that strained the two sides during the more than one-year long break.

The island had then witnessed heated tension over oil exploration off the Mediterranean, a British football team's last-minute decision not to play against a Turkish Cypriot team upon reaction from Greek Cyprus and a growing lack of enthusiasm among Turkish Cypriots toward reunification according to recent public opinions.

The encounter between Talat and Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos comes on neutral ground in the U.N.-patrolled buffer zone amid rising uncertainty over the future of the island. Both leaders agreed at a U.N. brokered meeting on Jul. 8, 2006 to start a twin-track process to pave the way for peace talks.

But no progress has been made since then and the two sides delayed in carrying out the Jul. 8 agreement aimed at helping end the decades-old search for a way to reunify the island.

“We want the opening of the road for a comprehensive solution to the Cyprus problem,” said Erçakıca.

“The Greek Cypriots should also show goodwill otherwise the situation will be more complicated.”

Fears have been raised that permanent division is the only practical solution on the island after stalled talks on reunification. In a recent

interview with the Turkish Daily News, President Talat said the Turkish Cypriot side would work for a settlement but warned if the Greek Cypriots did not want a united island, then “we cannot go for a forced marriage.”

Erçakıca raised expectations that today's meeting would produce results and the Jul. 8 process would successfully be ensured.

“We are positive as there is no reason for being pessimistic,” he said.

‘Not a single Turkish Cypriot sees the Turkish army as an invader’

Talat lays down the rules for tomorrow’s meeting

SELF-RULE, self-determination and the right of the Turkish army to intervene in Cyprus will not be up for discussion when Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat sits down with President Papadopoulos tomorrow to try and break the deadlock that has plagued relations between the two communities since the failed referendum of 2004, Talat said at the weekend.

“Turkish Cypriots have ruled themselves since 1963. Today, they are the owners of a state, a fully functioning administration. They will not sacrifice this,” Talat told a conference in the Turkish city of Izmir.

He also warned that Turkish Cypriots would not accept the removal of Turkey’s right to intervene militarily on the island from any potential agreement between the two communities, contesting that “apart from marginal groups… not a single Turkish Cypriot sees the Turkish army as an invader”.

Despite his seemingly tough words, Talat said he remained hopeful that a breakthrough could be found to break the deadlock that has reigned since the Greek Cypriot rejection of the UN’s last effort to solve the Cyprus problem in 2004.

“Maybe, if we can find establish a basis, a common understanding for peace on Cyprus, I can’t see a reason why we shouldn’t be able to solve the Cyprus problem,” he said.

Wednesday’s meeting will be the first between the two leaders since they last came together in July 2006 to thrash out what has become known as the July 8 agreement. Since then, there has been no top-level contact, and many of the points in the agreement signed that day have been widely ignored on both sides.

Whether tomorrow’s meeting will produce results remains uncertain. Indeed, Talat is all too aware that Papadopoulos faces an election early next year, and that it could be this alone that has brought him to the negotiating table.

However, he also believes his counterpart’s possibly ulterior motives should not prevent the meeting from taking place. “If the election is the trigger that starts the peace process, then so be it,” he said. Talat also knows that he too is under the scrutinising eye of his community – a community that he and his supporters promised a swift solution to the Cyprus problem and EU membership – and that returning empty-handed from the meeting will do little to boost his popularity.

Spin merchants taking us for a ride

WHEN IT comes to raising public expectations sky-high, the government is in a league of its own. It is capable of making the most outrageously optimistic predictions about matters and spinning policy failures into major triumphs.

The fact that most of the media uncritically repeat the official version of events and never question the initial claims after they have been proved less than accurate, has allowed the government to carry on the spinning. Why mend its ways if the generation of hype does not carry any political cost?

Nothing better illustrates this phenomenon than the government-generated hype surrounding gas and oil exploration in the Cyprus seas. Not only was there a big fanfare at the beginning of the year, when the government announced that it would be inviting applications for exploration, but the impression created was that big oil companies would be fighting each other to secure licences.

The government had told certain papers that there was unprecedented interest from the giant oil companies which would all be descending on Cyprus.

This proved a figment of the government’s imagination. As the deadline for the submission of the applications approached, the interest shown was minimal, yet officials continued to make wild claims about the big interest shown, while the Government Spokesman announced that there was at least one big oil company showing an interest.

All government hype and myths were exposed on August 16 when just two concerns – neither of which could be described as a giant oil company – applied for licences for three of the 11 plots on offer! The government had to put a brave face on, insisting that the interest shown was “satisfactory”.

But did the government learn anything from this embarrassment? Of course not, it has already begun raising expectations about the next round of applications for the second batch of exploration plots. A week ago, the commerce minister Antonis Michaelides told one newspaper that he expected increased interest for the second batch of plots. How wise was this, given the August fiasco?

The proverb, “once bitten, twice shy” does not apply to this government. Only six days after the deadline, the head of the Energy Department, at the Commerce Ministry, told Simerini that he would be visiting Israel to look at revolutionary new technology that would end Cyprus’ dependence on oil! “In 12 square kilometres we would be able to produce enough power to cover all Cyprus’ electricity needs,” he told the paper.

If such technology existed, interest in oil exploration would surely fade. Then again, the same official had boasted a week before the deadline for exploration applications, that “in eight years we will be selling oil to all of Europe and you can imagine what Cyprus will become.”Unfortunately, the government will continue to take us for a ride for as long as the hype and the myths do not carry a cost.

Tottenham travel to Cyprus in UEFA cup

Tottenham Hotspur, the first winners of the UEFA Cup in 1972, will take on Cyprus's Anorthosis, while their Premier League rivals Everton face Ukraine's Metalist.

"It's going to be a discovery. It is a team that we do not know at all," Tottenham's sporting director Damien Comolli told reporters.

"Last year was a big frustration for us," Comolli added, referring to their quarter-final defeat by eventual winners Sevilla.

Bolton Wanderers take on Rabotnicki of Macedonia and Blackburn Rovers have been drawn against Greece's Larissa.

The ties will be played on Sept. 20 and Oct. 4.

The 40 first round winners will then be drawn in eight groups of five, with the top three of each group progressing to the knockout phase. They will be joined at that stage by the eight teams who finish third in their Champions League group.

Ioannou puts Cyprus on the map

OSAKA, Japan, Aug 30 (Reuters) - While Donald Thomas grabbed the headlines with his world title-winning high jump performance, Kyriakos Ioannou was quietly putting his country on the map.

The Cypriot's bronze medal performance at the Nagai stadium on Wednesday night was a first world athletics championships medal for Cyprus.

"It is the first medal ever for my country in athletics. My dream has come true," Ioannou told reporters.

"In Cyprus, football is still the number one sport. Tennis has become very popular since Marcos Bagdhatis reached the final at the Australian Open in 2006.

"I cannot be compared to him," the 23-year-old said.

"But this is a big success for me and my country. The medal is unexpected and shows that anyone can do something special in sport."