Can Cyprus finally reach a peace deal?

Talks are underway to resolve the standoff between Greece and Turkey that has seen Cyprus divided for 42 years.

Dr Matthew Partridge
By
published
in Features

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Will the latest talks lead to peace?
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After a 42-year standoff between Greece and Turkey, will the latest talks over the future of Cyprus finally lead to a deal? Owing to the 1974 Turkish invasion, which split the North from the rest of the country, "the two sides are linked by very little", notes The Guardian's Helena Smith. However, "the starting gun has been fired on a process in which all this could soon change" while "across the ethnic divide there is conviction that the gaping wound could close".

Already, "Cypriots from both sides are intermingling... and working together".There are many reasons to welcome a deal, says the FT's Tony Barber. For example, better Turkish-EU relations "might encourage a comprehensive response to the refugee and migrant crisis in the Mediterranean". It also "ought to reduce Greek Cypriot tensions with Turkey over the exploitation of large offshore energy reserves". However, the problem is that many people are "unconvinced that a peace deal is worth the compromises required".

It would need to be approved by both communities in referendums. This thwarted a previous deal in 2004; the Greek Cypriots turned it down.But in contrast to that deal, "which was largely imposed on Cyprus from without", says Economist.com, the leaders of the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities "have driven the process themselves". This bodes well since they would not endorse a plan they think voters could reject. At the same time European governments have "lately found it difficult to win referendums", as Britain and Italy can attest.

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Dr Matthew Partridge
Dr Matthew Partridge
Shares editor, MoneyWeek

Matthew graduated from the University of Durham in 2004; he then gained an MSc, followed by a PhD at the London School of Economics.

He has previously written for a wide range of publications, including the Guardian and the Economist, and also helped to run a newsletter on terrorism. He has spent time at Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and the consultancy Lombard Street Research.

Matthew is the author of Superinvestors: Lessons from the greatest investors in history, published by Harriman House, which has been translated into several languages. His second book, Investing Explained: The Accessible Guide to Building an Investment Portfolio, is published by Kogan Page.

As senior writer, he writes the shares and politics & economics pages, as well as weekly Blowing It and Great Frauds in History columns He also writes a fortnightly reviews page and trading tips, as well as regular cover stories and multi-page investment focus features.

Follow Matthew on Twitter: @DrMatthewPartri

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