UN official says leaders exchanged papers on Cyprus property issue

The UN Secretary General's Special Representative in Cyprus Taye Brook Zerihoun said on Wednesday, after a meeting between the leaders of the two communities in Cyprus, that the leaders exchanged papers, which put down the principles that will guide their discussions on property.

He added that the leaders will meet again on the 4th of February and will present initial reactions to each other's papers.

Zerihoun said that during their tete-a-tete meeting on Wednesday, the leaders decided to implement the understanding or agreement reached in the technical committees on cultural heritage, namely the establishment of an advisory board on the preservation, physical protection and restoration of immovable cultural heritage of Cyprus.

President of the Republic of Cyprus Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat, held their 17th meeting on Wednesday, in the framework of the UN-led direct negotiations, which began last September with a view to reach a solution of the Cyprus problem.

They have been engaged in direct negotiations since early September last year, aiming at reunifying the island, divided since the Turkish invasion of 1974.