Anastasiades, Eroglu to meet Monday to restart Cyprus talks

President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu will have an informal meeting with their advisors on Monday, but in the absence of UN mediators, with the aim of agreeing on a joint statement that will pave the way for the resumption of direct talks on the Cyprus problem.

The meeting will take place at 6.30pm local time (1630 GMT) at a restaurant in the buffer zone near Ledra Palace in Nicosia.
Government spokesman Christos Stylianides said the president raised the question when Eroglu called last week to expressed his condolences over the death of former President Glafcos Clerides.
The Greek Cypriot side is seeking a direct effort to resume peace talks after a 39-year division, with the hope of embarking on some confidence building measures, such as the opening up the fenced-off ghost town of Famagusta to its Greek Cypriot inhabitants in exchange for the port in the Turkish part of the town being allowed to trade outside of sanctions.
Also, Cyprus wants Ankara to allow Cypriot aircraft to fly over Turkey and Cyprus-flag vessels to enter Turkish ports, in exchange for freeing up more negotiation chapters in Turkey’s EU accession hopes.
UN chief mediator Alexander Downer is not expected to return to Cyprus any time soon, due to the friction he created by imposing terms to restart talks that the Greek Cypriot side considered as biased and in violation of all United Nations resolutions on the Cyprus problem.