“There will be good days and bad days, but these have probably been the best days because of the creation of this unique atmosphere of trust, and will, and leadership”
Peace really has a chance in Cyprus, UN Secretary General’s Special Adviser on Cyprus Espen Barth Eide said on Tuesday, expressing his optimism that there is a genuine opportunity to solve the Cyprus problem, which the two leaders who resumed talks on Monday are actually grasping.
Speaking at a the Biommunal Peace Initiative at the Home For Cooperation, Eide said that “we agreed that we shall not reveal the details of the talks, and I will not start now, but what I want to tell you is that (on Monday) and (Tuesday) have probably been the best days in my current job because of the creation of this unique atmosphere of trust, and will, and leadership”.
He said that “after agreeing between the two sides on where they already stand on known issues, they have now started going into the new, complicated issues that you all know about, and they are doing that with a high degree of respect, creativity, and will to find solutions and will to understand each other, that I think is unique in Cyprus but unique in the world right now”.
“It’s very encouraging. Yesterday, a very solid leaders’ meeting; today, a meeting of the excellent negotiators, Mr. Ozdil Nami and Mr. Andreas Mavroyiannis, who also, like their leaders, have found a good tone of working together”, he stressed.
But leaders, he said, cannot change the world on their own, they need support.
“It’s not easy. There will be good days and bad days, but with this kind of spirit that I feel here tonight, I think that it is almost impossible to say that peace will not come, because peace really has a chance in Cyprus,” Eide concluded.
On Monday, President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci were “immersed in substantive negotiations with their focus on unresolved core issues,” Eide said after their meeting at the UN-controlled Nicosia airport compound.
Speaking to the press following the meeting which lasted five hours, Eide said that determined to keep the pace of their meetings and in line with their joint commitment to a leader-led process, the two leaders met in a positive and results-oriented atmosphere.
He noted that to enable their discussions, the negotiators provided an update on the work they have carried out on a specific set of core issues across the chapters of governance, property and criteria on territory.
Nami and Mavroyiannis were reported to have produced a list of convergences and divergences.
"Mr. Akinci and Mr. Anastasiades discussed those issues at length in a pragmatic and constructive manner, making further progress. They provided new guidance to the negotiators, who will meet three more times this week to carry forward their work on core issues", Eide said.
He also said that on the subject of confidence building measures, the leaders continued their exchange.
“They took stock of the work done to implement already agreed confidence building measures, expressing satisfaction with the progress made to date”, he stressed. “Mr. Anastasiades and Mr. Akinci expect that practical solutions to any pending issues will soon be found, bringing the implementation of those measures closer to completion”.
He added that the leaders exchanged views on the economic prospects that would arise from a solution.
“With substantive negotiations now at the centre of their work, Mr. Akinci and Mr. Anastasiades reiterated their resolve to reach a comprehensive settlement as soon as possible”.
Eide announced that the leaders will jointly participate in an event that will be co-organised by the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KEVE) and the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce (KTTO) on July 8. On the same day, they will also participate in a joint meeting with religious leaders.
The next leaders’ meeting will be held on Friday, July 10.
He said that sometimes they come to an agreement, while other times they continue to disagree, “always in a spirit saying that we will find a solution to those issues”. He stressed that the leaders don’t just have coffees and participate in events together, but they hold very substantive and serious negotiations which is something very encouraging.
He said that he is more optimistic than before due to the substantive negotiations between the two leaders who are committed to solving a long standing problem.
