Christofias - Eroglu to continue talks Wednesday

President of the Republic of Cyprus Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu will meet on Wednesday morning in the framework of the UN-backed direct negotiations for a solution to the Cyprus problem.

The meeting will be held at the residence of the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General in Cyprus, in the UN-protected area of Nicosia Airport.

In statements after the previous meeting, on March 23rd, President Christofias said that the Greek Cypriot side had submitted a precise proposal for a population census in both communities that will be monitored by the United Nations and under its aegis.

The President noted, however, the opposition of the Turkish Cypriot side to such a move.

He added that there is a special UN census department and recalled that the UN Secretary-General had stated, during their last meeting in Geneva on 26 January, that he was ready to help towards this direction.

“If we do not know the numbers and how many Turks from mainland Turkey have the so-called citizenship of the Turkish Cypriot regime, we will not be able to get into the depth of the issue. We are ready, the UN has said it is ready to help towards this, but unfortunately, we have again problems with the Turkish Cypriot side,” the President said.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third.

President Christofias and Eroglu are currently engaged in UN-led negotiations with an aim to reunify the island under a federal roof.