Ten years after the rejection of the Annan plan, the process for the imposition of an Annan-type solution has already been set in motion! Stavros Lygeros proves that this was expected since in 2004, Nicosia lost the golden opportunity to utilize the overwhelming “no” (76%) to initiate a strategic reassessment from scratch.

The negotiating framework titled “bi-communal, bi-zonal federation” inevitably leads to Annan-type plans, that is, to a peculiar and unviable confederation. While these plans cultivate the illusion of the reunification of Cyprus, in reality, they legitimize Ankara's control in the North and impose Turkish mortgages in the South.

According to the author, a prerequisite for changing the framework of solution-seeking is to open the discussion regarding the content of the solution in all directions, without taboos and with the awareness that the options are limited and nationally painful. Only if the Cypriot Hellenism formulates a counter-proposal capable of resonating and finding support in the international community, will it ultimately avoid an Annan-type solution.

The first two parts of the book analyze the defining and strategic parameters of the Cyprus issue, so that the reader has a clear picture of the real dilemmas. In the third part, Stavros Lygeros presents his proposal for a “velvet semi-divorce.” Its goal is to distance the small Turkish Cypriot state from Ankara's suffocating embrace, making it dance to European rhythms. In other words, it aims to evict Turkey from Cyprus.

The author compares each aspect of the “velvet semi-divorce” with the provisions of the Annan plan. He calls it velvet because it marries the fundamental “wants” of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. And semi-divorce, because while it envisions the creation of two independent Cypriot states based on the logic of “territory for recognition,” it does not stop there. It institutionally obliges them not only to cooperate closely but also to maintain a multiple balance between them.