In a bid to avert a Greek-Turkish conflict, the US State Department's envoy to Cyprus, Mr Thomas Miller, is expected to ask President Glafkos Clerides of Cyprus today to scrap an order for advanced ground-to-air missiles to be installed in mid-1998. Ankara has repeatedly threatened to destroy the missiles if they are deployed at a military airbase being built near the resort of Paphos, while Athens has retorted that such an attack would precipitate war between Greece and Turkey.
In an effort to intercept missile parts, the Turkish navy has stopped and searched a number of ships in the Bosphoros. Although no missile components have been discovered, Russia has reacted to the searches by accusing Turkey of violating the 1936 Montreux Convention assuring free passage through the strait.
While the State Department has played down the missile crisis, the US military reponded by drawing up contingency plans for dealing with a conflict between the NATO partners.
According to local commentators, the price for agreeing to back down on deploying the missiles would be US pressure on Ankara to compel Turkey to agree to the reunification of the island in a bizonal, bicommunal federation.
UN-brokered talks on reunification were broken off last month when the Turkish Cypriot leader, Mr Rauf Denktash, backed by Ankara, put forward two conditions for resuming talks. He insisted the missile deal should be cancelled, but this was rejected by the Greek Cypriots and Greece. He also called on the EU to freeze Cyprus accession talks due to begin early net year, a demand rejected by both the Greek Cypriots and the EU.
Mr Miller has already held talks in Ankara and Athens, and will cross the dividing Green Line to meet Mr Denktash. Local media say he favours "sledgehammer diplomacy", meaning that the US would persist until there was progress.
