The sale is still on, but delivery is not slated for another 16 months. The moment there is a timetable for demilitarization we will propose a ban on the import of weaponry. Notwithstanding the hostility, conditions may actually be the best ever for a solution. Settlement outlines have existed since 1992. The formula involves a single, sovereign federation comprising two local governments in two zones.
Rough ratios exist for Greek and Turkish representation in parliament and the cabinet.
Planning for security guarantees, including the makeup of peacekeeping forces and procedures for repatriating refugees, is well advanced. Since Turkey scarcely has a government now, Denktash may feel little pressure to bargain. The best incentive for the right answer, as well as the condition offering hope, is Cyprus' pending application to join the European Union. If the E.U. agrees at this week's Amsterdam summit to pursue expansion, talks will begin in January on the admission of Cyprus, ideally, but not necessarily, federated. The first clue whether Denktash wants to be more than a local warlord will come after July 8 when U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan has invited him and Cyprus' President Glafcos Clerides to meet near New York, the first time in three years that the two sides will have spoken directly.