...because in other places it's slipping away

The high hopes that greeted the renewed negotiations on the future of Cyprus have faded. Attempts to reach a settlement have failed even though people thought early on that the pressure of an agreed timetable would produce some sort of compromise.

No deal. Instead, we have the final step of the procedure: UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has put forth his own proposed settlement, supposedly one that "fills in the blanks" between the two sides' positions. It will be put to a referendum to both Greek and Turkish communities on Cyprus on April 24. Rejection by either side will kill the deal, which was intended to establish a unified Cyprus before it joins the EU on May 1.

Prospects are not good. Greece officials say an agreement is not possible and Greek Cypriots are seen as unenthusiastic about the plan.

It's not hard to see why. Annan's plan, while imposing conditions that some individual Turks on Cyprus would find burdensome (specifically, some might wind up having to leave in order to allow some Greek Cypriots to return to homes from which they were driven during the Turkish invasion in 1974), has as its core making the island into "a loose federation of two equal political parts" while allowing Turkish troops to remain in the north. In other words, the essence of the plan is to legitimize Turkey's invasion and its establishment of a breakaway state that has never been recognized by a single nation other than Turkey itself.

No wonder Turkey, which entered the process only reluctantly, is now all smiles and talking about "walking on the path of peace." It could hardly have asked for more.

According to the Times,

Mr. Annan seemed to suggest that failure this time would be permanent.

"The choice is not between this settlement plan and some other magical or mythical solution," he said. "The choice is between this settlement or no settlement."

I must confess that based on what I know, and if I were a Greek Cypriot, even if I believed that to be true I would still vote no. Sometimes half a loaf is not better than none.

And Kofi Annan needs to be reminded of "the inadmissibility of territory seized by war."