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Cyprus President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat began the second phase of the UN-led direct negotiations, by discussing bridging proposals in relation to the executive power in case of a solution in Cyprus.
In a statement following the meeting, Special Adviser of UN Secretary-General Alexander Downer said that the leaders discussed bridging proposals in relation to the election of the President and Vice-President of the United Republic.
“They had positions which they articulated on the question of the election of the executive in the first round. They had different positions. They have come back here with new bridging proposals and they initially presented those bridging proposals today”, Downer told reporters.
The discussions on the new bridging proposals will continue next Thursday.
The two leaders also discussed the cancellation of a pilgrimage by Greek Cypriots to the Turkish occupied areas via the Limnitis checkpoint, in a tete-a-tete session at the beginning of the meeting. Regarding that controversial for the two communities issue, the UN envoy said that President Christofias and Talat agreed, having discussed the issue of Limnitis, that they would leave it behind them and move on into the second reading of the direct negotiations.
The UN do not want to be too prescriptive about the process, he noted. As Downer said replying to a question, the UN want to see the leaders work it through in their own way and are there only to help.
“They are the principal parties to the negotiations and so they have to take the negotiations forward in ways that they feel comfortable with. We want the negotiations to keep going”, he said.
Downer said that UN wish the two leaders to achieve a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality and a single international personality, consistent with United Nations Security Council resolutions.
“We help the leaders as they want us to help them to see that become a reality, but they in terms of the details have to carry the process forward and we encourage them to that. And that is what they are doing, so we are pleased with the way it’s progressing”, he told reporters.
Asked about press reports that the UN wish to put some ideas on the table for the two leaders, Downer answered that “it's a free world, anybody on earth is entitled to have an idea”. He stressed however the point in that case is not so much the ideas, but who embraces the ideas that anybody has.
“The important thing here to understand is that these two leaders have to embrace any ideas for ideas to become any reality, so I wouldn’t over-interpret this question of ideas”, he explained adding that it will be a sad day if anyone decided to ban ideas.
After Thursday’s meeting the UN envoy together with the leaders of the two communities attended a reception for Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot artists who presented their work displayed at UN Good Offices meeting rooms, including rooms where the leaders meet.
Both leaders commended the artists, saying that their joint work presents them with a challenge which they have to meet as it concerns relations between the two communities.
President Christofias and Mehmet Ali Talat began direct talks on September 3rd 2008 with an aim to reach a negotiated settlement that would reunite the country under a federal roof.
During the 40 meetings of the first round of talks, the leaders have discussed six chapters: governance and power sharing, EU matters, security and guarantees, territory, property and economic matters, writing down the agreed and disagreed issues.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied 37% of its territory.
