Cyprus missile stand-down boosts EU membership hopes

Date: 07/01/1999

By Simon Taylor

Cyprus' hopes of joining the EU have been significantly improved by its decision not to deploy Russian-made S-300 anti-aircraft missiles, according to senior European Commission sources.

They claim that if Nicosia had gone ahead with plans to station the missiles on the island, negotiations on its application to join the Union which began in November would have been "suspended immediately".

They also maintain that the decision has vindicated the EU's position that starting membership talks would help progress towards a political solution to the problems of the Mediterranean island, which has been politically divided since Turkey invaded the northern part in 1974.

"The decision shows that there is a dynamic to the negotiation process. It was always our idea that the start of negotiations would bring pressure to do something," said one official.

His comments were echoed by a range of European governments which welcomed Cyprus' decision as a significant contribution to the reduction of tension in the region.

According to the Commission official, the move has put the onus on Turkey to make a gesture in return. "There should be some positive signs from Turkey on the process of negotiations with Cyprus," he said, adding that he hoped this would lead to renewed efforts to find a solution through the United Nations.

The official pointed out that Cyprus had made another significant gesture by scrapping a three-year-old ban on imports of Turkish goods which would help Cyprus come into line with EU customs rules.

On 30 December, Cypriot President Glafcos Clerides risked a domestic political crisis by deciding not to deploy Russian-made anti-aircraft missiles designed to protect the Greek Cypriot majority from attack by the superior Turkish military forces in the northern part of the island.

Cyprus will still have to pay for the missiles, which are now expected to be stationed in Crete. This would rule them out of being used to defend the divided island because they would be outside operational range. Turkey described the planned deployment as an act of war against Ankara and threatened to immediately destroy the missiles.

Even if the two sides had avoided fighting over the weapons, deployment would have effectively ended Cyprus' hopes of joining the EU. Four Union governments, led by France, warned in November that the island's divided status posed "fundamental problems" for Cyprus' bid to join the EU.

Paris welcomed Clerides' decision not to deploy the missiles, describing it as "wise and courageous", while a spokesman for the German government, which took over the EU presidency on 1 January, said it sent an "important message for reducing the dangerously high level of arms in Cyprus".

Numerous UN resolutions have called for a federal solution to the problem - giving both sides political representation. But Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash insists instead on a confederation which, the Greek Cypriots argue, would only formalise the illegal Turkish occupation on the island.