Tag: Cyprus

After Failure of Crans-Montana Talks, What Next for Cyprus Peace Process?

un-dpa: Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (right) with Espen Barth Eide (left) Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Cyprus during Cyprus talks. 30 June 2017. UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferré There was much anticipation in the run up to the resumed Conference on Cyprus in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, at the end of June 2017. The feeling among many observers of the long-running “Cyprus problem” was that this latest phase of negotiations was the closest the parties – the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots – had come in at least a decade to reaching a settlement. These renewed hopes quickly turned to disappointment, however. In the…

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Sunday Smack

Happy Sunday! This week was incredibly heat-wave-y in most of Europe that may or may not be a result of climate change. I am fully aware that I wrote the same about extreme cold a few months before, these are just the times we’re living. I admit I like this weather, but many countries in Europe are just not used to this kind of heat, not to talk about the  health implications of extreme temperatures. I hope you are all safe. Let’s do a little Sunday reading. Is ISIS conceding defeat? And even if it would be, would this be…

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Sunday Smack

Happy weekend everybody! And happy long weekend for those in the US and UK! I hope everyone in the EU has voted already, you know how I feel about voting. 🙂 It’s going to be a busy week for me, with loads of things to get done before I am heading to London the next weekend. I am very excited already! 🙂 Interestingly, I have only picked international law stories for this Sunday. Hope you’ll find them as interesting as I did. Crimea after Cyprus v. Turkey: Just Satisfaction for Unlawful Annexation? I have mentioned the European Court of Human…

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Sunday Smack

Hope everybody had a great weekend! After an incredibly grey and stormy week in Hungary with a taste of Yvette, summer is expected to arrive next week. And I can’t wait. Here’s a few posts of what I read last week. Syrian Peace Envoy Finally Admits Defeat I tend to agree with SG Ban that it is not Brahimi’s failure. I’d like to think that the problem is not unsolvable after all, even though two high profile diplomats have given up trying already. Then again, I don’t blame neither of them. EU’s Newest Sanction Targets: Crimean Firms, Not Russian Ones…

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Sunday Smack

I hope everybody’s weekends are going well! Here are some great reads for you to look back on this past week. Olympic Game: Washington Hopes Sochi Will Force Putin’s Hand on Syria I don’t know about that… It certainly doesn’t seem that way. Russia is again paralyzing the Security Council on a crucial Syria resolution. CAR is Falling Apart. And Everyone Knows Why Despite the Security Council resolutions, the peacekeeping troops on ground, and the new president elected, things don’t seem to improve in the CAR. Why Bosnians Are Protesting Great piece on Bosnia after the Dayton Peace Accords and…

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A few thoughts on Tuesday’s sessions of the UN General Assembly

While of course the most anticipated speeches of the general debate are yet to come, it has started yesterday nonetheless. The report of the Secretary General brought no surprise, he was emphasizing the same issues he was talking about before. I liked how straightforward and articulate he was about the most important ones. Regarding Syria he warned once again that the serious and growing threat to international peace and security requires Security Council action. I particularly liked his thoughts about recent uprisings, saying that “moderate majority should not be a silent majority”. That should be true to both sides: for…

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