Cyprus Talks: ‘Further progress made' on negotiations, confirmed both leaders

Cyprus: Greek Cypriot president Nicos Anastasiades, after his seventh meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci in the ongoing intensified negotiations on a Cyprus settlement under the watch of the UN on Saturday said further progress has been made on outstanding issues on the chapter concerning governance.


The meeting was an additional meeting the two leaders decided on during a previous meeting to extend the number of meetings from the scheduled seven to eight.

“We expect that on the 14th September, through the estimates of results to date, that we will have moved to further planning to achieve convergences on all outstanding issues,” Anastasiades said.

Anastasiades said he is “always cautiously optimistic because there are difficult issues that need to be looked into, to be overcome.”

Anastasiades reiterated his stance agreed by the two leaders that there would be no public statements concerning the progress of the negotiations until the final meeting on September 14, where they are expected to make a joint statement on what has been discussed.

When the additional meeting was announced, Anastasiades had said they would discuss outstanding issues which are not related to guarantees and territory chapters in details.

After Saturday's meeting Akinci said said that there was “slight progress” and convergences have been achieved adding that they will continue discussion on governance and address some disagreements on property in next week's meeting but that the main purpose of that meeting is to prepare a joint statement.

“There is a common goal and I now believe that this objective, which is to finally bring peace to this island until the end of time, is taking shape,” Akinci said.

Akinci said what is expected from the Greek Cypriot side is to “continue the negotiation process within realistic frameworks” and if that is achieved, he could not see why there shouldn’t be a settlement agreement.

Akinci also said that convergences are increasing, but there still exists serious disagreements, while important points in issues concerning property and rotating presidency remain unresolved.

Akinci said the ongoing talks is however, the most advanced stage in negotiations Cypriots have ever achieved by themselves, through negotiating teams from the two sides.
Source: Cyprus Mail