III- Negotiations Between The Two Sides To Reach A Settlement To The Cyprus Question

There were mediation attempts between the two sides between 1964 -1968 to resolve the conflict. UN sponsored negotiations, which have taken place since 1968 can be summarised as follows:

1. First Series of Talks: 1968-1974
2. Five Rounds of “Vienna Talks”: 1975-1976
3. Summit Meetings of 27 January and 12 February 1977
4. Six rounds of “Vienna Talks: 31 March-7April 1977
5. Summit Meeting of 18-19 May 1979
6. Talks of June 1979
7. Talks of 1980-1981
8. Talks of 1981-1983
9. “Vienna Working Points” and Proximity Talks of 1984
10. Summit Meeting of January 1985- Summit Meeting of March 1986
11. Geneva Meeting of February 1988-Summit Meeting of February-March 1990 followed by the unilateral EU membership application of the Greek Cypriot side
12. Set of Ideas of 1992 and the UN Confidence Building Measures
13. Attempts at settlement between 1995-2001
14. Face-to Face Talks of 2002 and the emergence of the Annan plan

Negotiations of 2004 leading to the Bürgenstock/Switzerland process and the final Annan Plan

Upon the initiative of the Turkish Cypriot/Turkish side, the UN Secretary-General invited the parties to the Cyprus question to New York to resume the negotiations on the basis of a draft comprehensive settlement plan. As a result, an agreement was reached on 13 February 2004 in New York to resume negotiations to achieve a comprehensive settlement, through separate and simultaneous referenda before 1 May 2004.

The first phase of the negotiation process was conducted on the island, however, only limited progress was achieved due to the negative stance of the Greek Cypriot side. The second and third phases were conducted in Bürgenstock. During the final round, on 31 March 2004, the UN Secretary-General finalized his plan in close consultation with the two sides in Cyprus and with Greece and Turkey.

On 31 March 2004, at the closing of the Bürgenstock process, the UN Secretary-General submitted the final version of the Annan Plan to the approval of the two parties with these remarks: “The choice is not between a settlement plan and some other magical or mythical solution. In reality, at this stage, the choice is between this settlement and no settlement. There have been too many missed opportunities in the past. For the sake of all of you and your people, I urge you not to make the same mistake again.”