Resolution of the nearly 30-year-old Greek-Turkish problem in Cyprus seems so near and yet so far. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan is pressing for an end to the division of the island and many Greek and Turkish Cypriots desire a settlement. Yet problems remain, including the fact that diplomats are preoccupied with a possible war against Iraq.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 into Greek and Turkish sectors. Separation is maintained through military force, with a token U.N. peacekeeping force standing between the opposing sides. Mr. Annan last year offered a reasonable proposal for a loose confederation, subject to approval by a referendum in both communities.
For a time it seemed that the proposal might be furthered as part of an agreement to bring Cyprus into the European Union. The idea was that the other 14 EU members would tell Greece to agree that only a unified Cyprus would be eligible, resulting in pressure from Athens on Greek Cypriots. Meanwhile, Turkey (a candidate for EU admission) would muscle Turkish Cypriots toward a settlement.
Unfortunately, that scenario never came to fruition. Some EU members balked at membership negotiations with Turkey, and in the end the EU agreed that Greek Cyprus would be admitted even without reunification of the island.
Another potentially positive development was an election in the Greek part of Cyprus that replaced President Glafcos Clerides with the more liberal Tassos Papadopoulos. The problem was that Mr. Papadopoulos beat Mr. Clerides in part by criticizing him for having given away too much in the negotiations with the United Nations and Turkey.
Finally, a good part of the Turkish population on Cyprus has tired of economic stagnation and has been demonstrating in favor of a settlement and against their hard-line president, Rauf Denktash.
Secretary-General Annan had set Friday as a deadline for the two sides' agreement to the U.N. proposals. As that date approached and success remained elusive, he reset the target date to March 10.
The United States has advocated a settlement of the Cyprus problem for years, but was handcuffed in pushing for one by the need to stay on the right side of Greece and Turkey, both NATO allies. Now, with just about every piece of foreign policy furniture being thrown on the fire in quest of support for a war against Iraq, U.S. pressure on either Greece or Turkey seems unlikely.
The Cypriots themselves could decide to push ahead. Or, assuming that the Turkish parliament reverses its decision against allowing U.S. forces to use its territory on Iraq, Cyprus could be included in a U.S. aid package for Turkey.
This is an old issue but an important one, and -- even with Iraq on its mind -- the United States should play a role in trying to resolve it.
E-mail this story 
