Following the first of seven meetings in the Cyprus negotiations, held between the two community leaders on Tuesday, President Akinci said the leaders had crucial work to do in the coming weeks.
In the main, current divergences between the two sides had to be minimised. He noted that both leaders had agreed that they would not release statements after every meeting. However, there could be a joint statement issued after the final meeting on 14th September.
Akinci said that he felt confident that the talks had entered a new phase which would affect the progress of the negotiations. If there was sufficient headway in the talks, there could be a meeting with UNSG Ban Ki-moon “that will pave the way to bring us to a five-party conference” with the guarantor powers, Greece, Turkey and Britain.
On Monday, President Akinci invited all four political party leaders in the North to accompany him on the trip to New York in September, if the five-party conference is arranged.
President Anastasiades said of Tuesday’s meeting, that they had touched on the issue of guarantees but only briefly. Each of the six chapters will be discussed at each of the six meetings, he noted. When asked about the property issue, Anastasiades said they had set a date to discuss property but the discussions would not go as far as referring to areas and maps. On territory, he said criteria for territorial adjustments would be discussed “which is connected to property,” he said.
“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 added.
Presidents Akinci and Anastasiades discussed recent developments in their meeting on Tuesday and set a schedule for the six remaining meetings.
Cyprus Mail
