Swedish FM: Outcome of talks on Cyprus will be an important development

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt has said that the outcome of the current negotiations on the Cyprus question will be the most important development during the next months.

Speaking during the annual conference «Debate on the state of the Union», held at the
European Policy Centre in Brussels, Bildt, whose country will take over the EU Presidency as of July 1st, noted the challenges that the EU faces, among which, as he said, is the settlement of the Cyprus question.

Bildt said that it is a shame, twenty years after the fall of the Berlin wall one European capital, Nicosia, to remain divided.

The Swedish FM said that a possible success or failure in the outcome of the talks would have serious impacts on the Eastern Mediterranean region and on the EU –NATO relations.

Bildt said he was convinced about the will of the leaders, Cyprus President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat, to achieve an agreement, noting that if there is an agreement the EU must contribute to its implementation so that both communities will benefit from its financial gains.

“When Cypriots are ready we will have to be ready too,” he added, noting that no other opportunity must be lost, since the impacts of a possible failure will be long-term.