ARMENIAN AND GREEK CYPRIOT PRESIDENTS BACK TURKEY’S EU BID
Grace Annan

World Market Research Centre
Global Insight
July 8, 2009

On Tuesday (6 July), Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan ended his
two-day official visit to Greek Cyprus. At the joint press conference
with the Greek Cypriot president Demetris Christofias, Christofias
stated that he shared many of the positions Sargsyan had, notably
with regards to relations with the Turkish government. According to
theCyprus Mail, Christofias stressed that his administration supported
the accession of a "modernised" Turkey with "European behaviour"
to the European Union (EU); however, Greek Cyprus would oppose any
motivations by fellow EU member states to let Turkey in just because
of the size of its market. Christofias described Turkish Cypriots
as "brothers and children of the same country" (Cyprus Mail), but
warned the Turkish government against capitalising on this to distort
relations between Greek and Turkish Cypriots. Sargsyan echoed these
comments. The two presidents further agreed to increase the scope for
business meetings between Greek Cypriot and Armenian operators soon.

Significance:The comments of the conference will certainly alert the
Turkish government. The Armenian and Turkish governments have had a
careful rapprochement since September 2008, as Turkey tries to increase
its diplomatic clout in the Caucasus region. Yet many obstacles remain
in the way of normalising ties with each other, some of which were
highlighted by Christofias and Sargsyan yesterday. Both presidents
are grappling with ethnic unrest, Sargsyan with Nagorno Karabakh,
which raises tensions with the Turkey-friendly Azeri government,
and Christofias with Turkish Cyprus and finding a solution on the
future of the divided island with the help of the UN. Backing each
other may increase their chances of getting concessions from the
Turkish government somewhat, notably by using EU membership as an
incentive. However, the Turkish government is unlikely to either
soften its stance on the genocide of Armenians in the First World
War, side with Sargsyan on Nagorno Karabakh, or open its airports
and harbours fully to Greek Cypriot operators in the near future.