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The chapter of governance and power sharing and particularly the executive will be the first issue Cyprus President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat will discuss at the first meeting of the second round of the ongoing UN-led direct negotiations, on September 3rd.
Special Adviser of the UNSG for Cyprus, Alexander Downer, after the end of today’s 40th meeting of the leaders of the two communities, said that President Christofias and Talat asked him to say that “they are very pleased to announce that the first reading has been now completed. Today was the last meeting of the first reading”.
President Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader started direct talks on September 3rd 2008. In their 40 meetings they have discussed six chapters: governance and power sharing, EU matters, security and guarantees, territory, property and economic matters, writing down the agreed or disagreed issues.
Downer stressed that from the perspective of the UN, completion of the first reading “shows that there has been significant progress in these negotiations”. Second reading or second round will start September 3rd after the break the two leaders will have.
At their first meeting of the second round they will focus on governance and in particular the executive which will be “the first issue they will discuss”. After that they will discuss property issues and then other outstanding issues.
Today’s meeting started with an hour and a half tete – a – tete meeting between the leaders of the two communities for the next half an hour they had a full session with their delegations and UN and discussed the issues relating to aliens, citizenship, immigration and asylum, Downer said.
''So, as I said the leaders will be moving from now onwards into the second reading, revisiting areas where there have been points of disagreement and addressing and endeavouring to resolve those differences,'' he added.
He announced also that Presidential Commissioner George Iacovou, Turkish Cypriot leader’s adviser, Ozdil Nami and UNSG Special Representative in Cyprus, Tayee-Brook Zerihoun will visit Limnitis area, on the north west, next Monday, August 10. The two leaders have agreed to open a crossing point in Limnitis to facilitate movement to and from the island’s northern Turkish occupied areas.
Asked about a suggestion by the Turkish Cypriot side to hold the second round of talks only at leaders' level, Downer said that at their meeting on September 3rd President Christofias and Talat will have with them their representatives.
“It is within the capacity of the leaders, should they wish, to allow their representatives to meet from time to time between the meetings of the leaders, to iron out other issues or do further work on the issues the leaders themselves have been discussing,'' he explained.
Cyprus, an EU member-state, has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. President Christofias and Talat have been engaged in direct negotiations since September 2008, with an aim to reunite the island.
