As long as I'm already depressed, redux

It started with hopes so high, with both sides seemingly ready to finally make the necessary compromises.

United Nations officials will hold new separate meetings today with Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos and Turkish-Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, amid general pessimism at the prospect of a peace deal emerging in the next five days.

In that case, Greece and Turkey will join in a new round of talks in Switzerland. If these also prove fruitless, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan will draft a deal that will be put to referenda on both sides of the ceasefire line on April 20. ...

It is unclear, however, whether the meetings - to be held at the resort of Burgenstock, on Lake Lucerne, according to sources in Switzerland yesterday - will be attended by Denktash.

Late on Monday, speaking to a delegation of hardline nationalists who called on him to resign in order to lead opposition to Annan's peace blueprint, Denktash said such a move could be on the cards.

"You know I will do that if necessary," he told the delegation. "We will all see whether this becomes necessary or not." Denktash is due in Ankara for consultations on Sunday.

Those consultations will very likely make a real difference. As long as Denktash feels he has Turkey (and Turkish troops) behind him, it's likely he'll continue to be obstinate. But Turkey, possibly wanting to get Cyprus off the table before a semi-autonomous Kurdistan becomes a reality, has previously said Denktash's "loyalty" was an issue. If Ankara tells him to shove it, we have more important things to attend to, I suspect things will turn around very quickly on Cyprus. The consultations, that is, will tell us much more about Turkey's intentions than Denktash's.