UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has pressed both Cypriot leaders to focus on bridging the gaps and building on the principles outlined in the Joint Declaration of February 11, 2014.
At the same time, his Special Adviser on Cyprus Espen Barth Eide announced on Saturday that he will be coming to Cyprus with “some bridging proposals”.
The UNSG on Saturday met with Turkish President Derviş Eroğlu after which a written statement issued at the UN, said that the Secretary-General and Eroğlu discussed the status of the negotiations aimed at achieving a comprehensive settlement in Cyprus.
“The Secretary-General welcomed the recent agreement between the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot leaders to move forward in the negotiations, on the basis of the Joint Declaration which they endorsed on 11 February 2014.
He urged them to work without delay to bridge the remaining differences between their positions, building on the principles outlined in the Joint Declaration”, the statement concludes.
Speaking through his translator, President Eroğlu repeated his views on the need for a “give and take” procedure, arguing that the Greek Cypriot side “must make proposals that take into account the positions of both sides”.
