Cyprus Talks Begin With Cautious Optimism

[mumon]

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Cyprus.html


Filed at 6:47 a.m. ET

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) -- Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders resumed negotiations Friday on reuniting their island while anxious citizens carefully watched the developments with concern about the compromises that might be required.




Denktash and his Greek Cypriot counterpart, President Tassos Papadopoulos, have agreed to hammer out a deal by March 22 and have staked out tough positions in the talks. If they fail, Turkish and Greek officials will join the talks, and if that does not succeed U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan is to fill in the blanks before the agreement goes before a referendums on the island.


``We don't have any second or third chances anymore and everyone is aware of this. Turkish Cypriots don't want to be patient and wait anymore because there is nothing in their future





This is not really spelled out in the article at all {damned lib-rul media!} but the impetus for peace actually came not from EU ministers, but from the people themselves, who just stopped listening to the demagogues in power and started meeting their counterparts...and finding out they were people. The politicians here have been behind the curve ever since.