There has been widespread international criticism of the Greek Cypriot decision to reject United Nations proposals on reunifying the country in Saturday's referendum - and rightly so.
Greek Cypriot leaders argued that the UN proposals are too tilted in favour of the Turkish Cypriots and advised voters it will be possible to revisit them after their accession to the European Union. But EU leaders believe a unique opportunity has been missed and warn that rejection of the UN plan will not be cost free for the Greek Cypriots.
A lot hung on this vote. The island has been partitioned for 30 years following the Turkish army's invasion in 1974 in response to a coup in favour of uniting Cyprus with Greece. The international effort to secure a settlement now is part of a much wider attempt to resolve the question of Turkey's relationship with the EU, at a time when it is essential to establish a new relationship between the Muslim world and Europe.
The widespread regret over this result, in which the Greek Cypriots rejected the plan by more than 75 per cent, compared to a 65 per cent acceptance by the Turkish Cypriots, has much to do with these broader issues.
While the Greek Cypriot leaders could not be expected to disregard their interests simply to suit some larger geopolitical design, they have been accused of selfishly ignoring a real opportunity to resolve the island's division and negotiating in bad faith, notably by the European commissioner responsible for EU enlargement, Mr Günther Verheugen. Comments by him and other proponents of the deal were kept out of the Greek Cypriot media in the closing stages of the campaign. Thus there will be resistance to reopening negotiations on terms favourable to the Greek Cypriots and a widespread readiness to relieve political and economic isolation of the Turkish north.
Among the responses being canvassed are a change in the so-called line regulation which determines the status of the island's division in international law. If it is replaced by a law which recognises the line as an external EU border it would be possible to ease trade embargoes on the Turkish Cypriots. There will also be a willingness to relax their political isolation in the context of Turkey's approach towards EU membership.
The Turkish prime minister Mr Recep Tayyip Erdogan's active engagement with the negotiations and support for the UN proposals, despite resistance from his powerful armed forces, is also appreciated in Brussels.