22 March 2008:  It only took a month in office for just-elected Cypriot President Demetris Christofias to make good of his words. He met with Turkish leader Mehmet Ali Talat of the Turkish occupied side of divided Cyprus and, together, they may have just revived a stagnant period of diplomatic inactivity that has lasted nearly four years.

The diplomatic process was revived when the two leaders met on Friday to discuss reunifying the island and opening Ledra Street, which divides the capital city of Nicosia in two. Since Cyprus’ accession into the European Union in 2004, negotiations had been halted. Then-UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan had presented his plan (Annan Plan) to the Cypriots following intense negotiations. The plan outlined a comprehensive bi-communal agreement that would set the roadmap for the Greeks and Turks to unify the island.  In a twin referendum before the accession, the north approved the plan while the south defeated it.

The conflict between the Republic of Cyprus in the south and the Turkish Republic of Cyprus in the north—recognized only by Turkey—has the dubious distinction of being the United Nation’s longest peacekeeping mission. Although there has been no large scale violence since 1974, it remains an island in turmoil.

But after Friday’s three-hour meeting between Christofias and Talat the mood has changed both for Cyprus and for the international actors that have worked on the peace process the past several decades. It helps that both leaders of their left-wing parties have known each other for a long time. 

The diplomatic process will not be easy. The leaders will still have to agree on intractable, until now, issues such as control of territories, the return of refugees, and the presence of the Turkish army and Turkish settlers in the north of the island. These issues have been strong enough to sustain a frozen conflict since the 70s.

It will take more than just the good will of the two leaders to move the process forward. Actors in the middle and at the grassroots levels of diplomacy have done wonders in keeping communication open across the “dead zone”; their role is now more vital than ever. For the process to eventually succeed there must be a genuine will for reconciliation and unification, which can only be fostered through more Track II Diplomacy initiatives.

So is the will there?

The BBC reported that when asked by a reporter whether he would be drinking Greek or Turkish coffee during the discussions, Christofias replied: “Cypriot coffee, we will both be having Cypriot coffee.”

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Some Quick Facts about Cyprus

By Donna Roberson

• Cyprus is comprised of citizens of Greek decent (80 percent) and of Turkish decent (20 percent).
  
  
• The country has a long history of Greek, Turkish and British colonization. Cyprus did not become its own country until 1960.
  
  
• The country’s constitution established a Greek Cypriot President and a Turkish Cypriot Vice President in an attempt to balance power on both sides. Greece, Turkey, and England all reserved the right to occupy the country if its stability was threatened.
  
  
• Peace was short-lived in the country with many Greek Cypriots favoring enosis (unification with Greece) while Turkish Cypriots favored takoism (maintaining Cyprus as an independent country).
  
  
• Fighting broke out in 1963. Turkish Cypriots fled north while Greek Cypriots fled south. Both sides abandoned homes. Politicians drew a line through the capital city of Nicosia--the infamous Green Line.
  
  
• UN peacekeeping troops arrived in 1964, but skirmishes plagued the country until 1974, when a military junta in Greece attempted to overthrow Cyprus’s government. The Turkish military arrived in Cyprus to fight the takeover.
  
  
• In 1983, Turkish Cypriots in the north declared themselves their own country (the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus—TRNC). The Turkish military remains in northern Cyprus to this day.
  
  
• Then-TRNC President Rauf Denktash opened checkpoints in 2003, allowing Cypriots to move between the north and the south.
  
  
• Then-UN Secretary General Kofi Annan presented the Annan Plan in 2004. The north approves the plan. The south defeats it.
  
  
• On March 21, 2008, newly elected Cypriot President Demetris Christofias and Turkish leader Mehmet Ali Talat meet to set an agenda for unification of the island and agree to re-open Ledra Street.