LATELY an unfamiliar emotion has washed over Cyprus: hope. The economy is starting to crawl back after a euro-zone bail-out in 2013. But the big news was the surprise election, in April, of Mustafa Akinci, a centre-left moderate, as president of the unrecognised Turkish-Cypriot north. This has kindled new optimism over ending the island’s divide.
Since Turkish troops invaded and occupied the north after a brief bid by the Greek-Cypriot leadership to unite with Greece in 1974, many plans for reunification have come and gone. The most recent was the (Kofi) Annan plan, backed by Turkish-Cypriots but rejected by the Greek-Cypriots just before Cyprus joined the European Union in May 2004. The latest talks broke down in October, after Turkey sent a research ship into Cypriot waters to explore for gas.
But Mr Akinci’s election has lifted the mood. Greek-Cypriots saw it as a sign of frustration among Turkish-Cypriots with Turkey’s government, which has poured subsidies and settlers into the north, and keeps over 30,000 troops there. Early meetings between Mr Akinci and his Greek-Cypriot counterpart, Nicos Anastasiades, have gone well. Greek-Cypriots…
The Economist: Europe
