Mavroyiannis UN General Assembly Defeat: Who are Cyprus’ True Allies?

Last Monday 13 of June, as the hot Mediterranean summer working day was here in Lefkosia drawing to a close, we received another unexpected blow (?) to our international standing if not reputation: our top diplomat Andreas Mavroyiannis was defeated in his bid to be elected President of the 71st…

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Taking the Cypriots for a … Settlement Ride

Having outlined the sad historical background of the denial of implementation of the core UN principles of equal rights and of self-determination for the people of Cyprus in our Victory Day anniversary analysis (9 May 2016), it is necessary to take a look at the current state of affairs with…

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Grim Legacy of VD for Cyprus: Non Implementation of Self-Determination Created Tragedy: Should the UN Legitimize the Travesty?

Today marks the anniversary of the defeat of Nazism. The 9th of May 1945, Victory Day, marks the date Nazi Germany, bent on subjugating the whole world, was utterly defeated by the Allied Powers. The latter through their commitments signed under both the Atlantic (1941) and the UN Charter (1945)…

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Germany-Turkey: A Centuries Old Love Affair?

That’s over now, we are going to finish this off thundered Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a televised speech to the state-run Red Crescent humanitarian organization, Monday 4 April 2016. State television channel TRT aired live the speech. The neo-Sultan was referring to the generation old autonomy-seeking Kurdish insurgency…

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The Unbearable Lightness of Schulz Cyprus Journey

It is a truism to say there is a price to everything in the world we live in. As more and more ‘atmospheric’ noise is made by international actors (UN, EU) about the imminence of a Cyprus settlement, it is vital that we shed at least some light on the…

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Eastern Med Provocations Have No End: Trust the Turks?

No sooner the first NAVTEX signaling a concerted plan of provocations in the Cypriot Exclusive Economic Zone expired, Ankara issued a second Navigation Telex notifying the apathetic world that it is here to stay – audaciously seeking to block waters even closer to the southern coast of the Republic of…

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Warm Waters: 70 Hot Days Ahead

Exactly three years ago, in October 2011, my phone rang at my antique maps gallery-cum-office. At the other end of the line was Dr Gregory Reichberg, an American seasoned researcher, a dear colleague then Director of the PRIO Cyprus Centre. Already at my time at the UN University HQ Tokyo…

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