We are nearer to a political solution in Cyprus?

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“We are ready for a new relationship with Turkey in the new era. We are ready for a solution,” Anastasiades said during his economy-dominated inaugural speech in the Parliament in Nicosia. The president, who expressed his support for Turkey’s accession to the European Union, said the Cyprus issue should be solved with the aid of treaties and U.N. decisions.

“Anastasiades’ policy is meaningful and right,” Ali Faik Demir, an academic from Galatasaray University, told the Hürriyet Daily News in a phone interview.

“The situation of Greek Cyprus and Greece is obvious,” Demir said, referring to the economic crises they are dealing with. “It wouldn’t be logical to say, ‘We don’t want a solution,’ or to oppose Turkey’s EU membership.”

Anastasiades had supported the failed “yes” vote for a U.N. reunification blueprint in 2004, known as the so-called “Annan Plan,” even though it was overwhelmingly rejected by Greek Cypriots, resulting in a divided island joining the EU.

“The conjuncture today is different than before. Turkey is seeking alternatives to the EU like the Shanghai Organization. Greek Cyprus does not want Turkey to leave the table because then they won’t have the instrument of pressure against the European Union any more. It also doesn’t want to be the part causing economic and political trouble in the EU. Because they are in crisis, it is obvious that they won’t benefit from this situation. What they want is to say that they are in favor of a solution and throw the ball into Turkey’s court,” Demir said.