The UN Secretariat team dealing with the Cyprus problem has reached the conclusion that the process of direct negotiations to solve the island's political question is moving at a slow pace.
The conclusion was reached after a briefing of UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and Undersecretary General for Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe by the UN Secretary General's Special Adviser on Cyprus Alexander Downer.
Downer has concluded the first phase of his contacts at UN headquarters on Thursday. After his meetings on Friday in Washington with State Department officials, he will return to New York to wrap up his meetings.
His position was that the two sides in Cyprus have not shifted from their main points and views, which does not help the process move forward.
He also spoke of fatigue, due to the exhausting negotiations between the leaders of the two communities, noting that if this continues, the rhythm will slow down.
Despite the fact that neither Downer nor Ban with Pascoe have found any solutions to this, they are deliberating the possibility of bringing back bicommunal working groups to discuss the details of various aspects of the Cyprus problem, leaving political decisions up to the leaders.
For the time being, Downer is meeting with all major players to hear their views on how to facilitate the process, within the parametres agreed on by the parties.
After a meeting he is scheduled to have on Monday with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, Downer will fly to Brussels to meet EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn.
On Wednesday he will be in Cyprus for the next meeting between President of the Republic Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat, scheduled for October 10.
Before returning to Australia, he will fly to London for meetings with the British government.
President Christofias and Talat have been engaged in talks since early September, with a view to reach an agreement that will reunite Cyprus, which has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Technical committees and working groups, comprising experts from the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot communities, have been set up to help the work of the leaders by preparing the ground for the start of direct negotiations which began on 3 September.
