Cyprus Update: Both leaders set agenda as talks intensifies

Cyprus: Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci on Tuesday met to resume negotiations on the settlement of the divided Island after a three weeks summer break. The two leaders discussed recent development concerning the negotiations and set their agenda for the next six meetings.


After the meeting, Anastasiades told reporters that the two leaders did not discussed the issue of guarantees but had touched on it and also discussed Akinci's recent meeting with Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan “generally speaking” but not in detail.

“From what I understand the Turkish President reiterated the will to contribute to solving the Cyprus problem,” said Anastasiades.

During the next six meetings between the leaders until September 14 before Anastasiades travels to New York to attend the UN General Assembly, the leaders will discussed on issues bordering all of the six chapters that are yet to be completely discussed or where there has not been complete convergence such as the rotating presidency in the chapter on governance.

The larger issues are property, territory, guarantees and security, of which latter three have not been discussed in details by the two leaders since negotiations began.

Both leaders by September 14 hope to at least have a view of where the talks are headed.

Anastasiades said his meeting with Akinci had been constructive and when asked if there might be a joint meeting in New York with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Anastasiades said;

“This will be discussed on September 14 when our intensive discussions will indicate how much progress has been achieved.” 

“If no such progress exists that would allow us to have a meeting… I do not think that is the end of the world… but, I repeat, this will be decided on September 14 when we take into account the entire course of the intensive dialogue that precedes it.”

Anastasiades indicated that each of the six chapters will be discussed at each of the six meetings till September 14 adding that a date had been set to discuss property but that the discussions would not go as far as referring to areas and maps.
On the part territory, he said criteria for territorial adjustments would be discussed “which is connected to the property.”

“The same will happen in terms of security and guarantees. The basic principle that both sides agree on is that the security of one community cannot be a threat to the other,” he said.

When asked about recent reports making the rounds on Monday related to the Turkish Cypriot side granting ‘citizenships’ to Turkish settlers, Anastasiades said Akinci had assured him that nothing other than what the leaders had agreed on that issue was happening.

On Akinci's part, he said the leaders had serious work to do in the coming weeks.

Akinci said the main goal of the next six meetings was to minimize the existing disagreements between the two sides, adding that both leaders had agreed not to make statements after every meeting.
Akinci also said that there might be a joint statement after the final discussion on September 14.

Akinci expressed the belief that the negotiations had entered a new stage that would impact the course of the talks and depending on it's progress it could lead to a joint meeting with Ban “that will pave the way to bring us to a five-party conference” with the guarantor powers, Greece, Turkey and Britain.

“It depends on the results that we get here in the next six meetings,” Akinci said.

Source: Cyprus Mail