Leaders of divided Cyprus to meet on May 23rd

09/05/2008

The leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities reportedly plan to meet on May 23rd to review progress in preparations for opening new negotiations.

(Cyprus Mail - 09/05/08; AP, AFP, DPA, CNA, Financial Mirror; Kathimerini - 19/04/08; AFP, DPA - 18/04/08)

Cypriot President Demetris Christofias (left) and Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus leader Mehmet Ali Talat will meet later this month. [Getty Images]

Cypriot President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat will meet in two weeks to assess preparations made, in advance of launching new re-unification talks, officials in the divided Mediterranean island said on Thursday (May 8th).

In a brief statement, Cypriot government spokesman Stephanos Stephanou said the meeting would take place on May 23rd, but offered no other details.

On March 21st, Christofias and Talat agreed to establish working groups and technical committees to iron out the details of a re-unification agreement.

During their first face-to-face talks since Christofias won the February 24th presidential election, they also agreed to meet again in three months to review the work of those panels, with a view to opening UN-sponsored comprehensive peace talks in June.

The Greek Cypriot daily Cyprus Mail quoted a diplomatic source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, as confirming that the purpose of the May 23rd meeting would be "to take stock of the work done by these panels so far and to see where things stand".

Under the leadership of Christofias and Talat's advisers, George Iacovou and Ozdil Nami, six working groups and seven technical committees, made up of 150 Greek Cypriot, Turkish Cypriot and UN officials, were established last month. They have been meeting daily at a UN base at the old Nicosia airport since April 18th to lay the groundwork for the future negotiations.

They have discussed a host of re-unification issues, ranging from thorny ones -- concerning security, property and territory -- to day-to-day concerns.

Early on, Iacovou warned that the process may not go smoothly. He also said it would be "completely impossible" for Christofias and Talat to open direct negotiations without some progress at the group level.

"I don't think really you can say there will be progress or no progress; there will be all shades; there will be black, white and shades of grey," he said.

Nami also noted the need for negotiators to be more pragmatic in their work in order to achieve results.

"We have to change our ways, and have to start thinking as a team and not as rivals," he said on April 18th. "Getting emotional, angry or intransigent will be luxuries we cannot afford to have. Our leaders expect us to deliver results to be used in their direct negotiations in less than three months. So we don't have much time."

Christofias and Talat spoke briefly on Wednesday, when they both attended a reception hosted by the Slovak embassy in Nicosia.

On Thursday, Talat attended a dinner in Limassol hosted by the leader of the Greek Cypriot DISY party, Nicos Anastassiades, who voiced hope that such gatherings "between compatriots" will soon stop making the news.

Talat said he expects the two communities "to move towards better relations" so a solution can be reached "as soon as possible".

Cyprus has been split between a Turkish Cypriot-run zone in the north and a Greek Cypriot-controlled one in the south since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded the island after a brief Athens-backed coup aimed at uniting it with Greece.

The latest effort at re-unification ended in failure in 2004, when the Greek Cypriots rejected a plan proposed by then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Although the majority of Turkish Cypriots accepted the plan, only the internationally recognised Greek Cypriot part of the island joined the EU in May 2004, as the country's sole authority. The Turkish Cypriot administration is recognised by Ankara alone.

Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Ferdi Sabit Soyer voiced hope Thursday that Christofias and Talat "will launch the comprehensive negotiation process under UN sponsorship in June and that we will achieve a comprehensive settlement towards the end of the year".