Denktas: Greek side in silence

"We are continuously presenting new alternatives. However they come up with no new alternatives, no counter arguments. What they are doing is to reject right away all of our proposals without even giving them a decent examination. They avoid being involved in the bargaining process. They don’t open the way to negotiate."

Time is running out for May, 1, when the Greek Cypriots will enter the European Union with or without a deal by leaving the Turkish Cypriots — recognized only by Ankara — out in the cold.

Denktas said they will present their written proposals on Thursday to the Greek Cypriots, expressing hope that this time the Greek side will at least examine their proposals.

"The EU has to accept the new state with a new protocol which would include the derogations the sides would agree on. These derogations will then be accepted as a part of the EU Primary Law and only after then our reaching an agreement on a series of items would mean something," noted Denktas.

If the two sides fail to reach an agreement by March, 22, "motherlands" Greece and Turkey will join the talks. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan then has a mandate to fill in any remaining gaps in the plan which will be presented to a referendum on both sides on April 21.

Meanwhile, U.S. Special Coordinator for Cyprus Thomas Weston who convened with the Prime Minister’s Foreign Affairs Advisor Ahmet Davutoglu in Ankara on Wednesday said they were aware of the good will and efforts the Turkish side has been displaying on the Cyprus issue.

Davutoglu noted that the Greek Cypriot side was displaying a relaxed behavior since they will enter the EU with or without a deal, saying that this was no good for the fate of the negotiations.

Greek media: UN, US working on new version of Annan plan
Meanwhile, the Greek media announced yesterday that the U.N. and the United States were working on a new version of the Annan plan, considering proposals from both sides.

According to Greek media, the new version of the plan is bringing "mid-way" suggestions for the issues of contention between the two sides.

The Turkish Cypriot side wants the borders to be changed into a straight line separating the two entities on the island, while the Greek side rejects this. The new plan envisages changing the borders to a straight line and in return gives more land to the Greek side. Under this regulation, the amount of land to be given to the Turkish side falls below 28.5 percent.

The so-called plan on which the U.N. and the U.S. are said to be working on brings a mid-way proposal also on the thorny issue of bi-zonality. The Turkish side wants the number of Greek Cypriots returning to the north of the island to be restricted. The plan aims to ease Turkish concerns over the issue by granting these people the right to vote in the Greek founding state instead of in northern Cyprus in which they will move to.

Another issue revised in the plan regards the troops remaining on the island. The Greek Cypriot side wants the Turkish troops to leave the island after a united Cyprus enters the EU and the U.N. to take control of the island. The new plan envisages troops remaining on the island but foresees a decrease in the number of Greek and Turkish troops and an increase in the number of international troops.