Cypriot Foreign Minister Markos Kyprianou has said he would like to see more progress in the direct negotiations between President of the Republic Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat.
Speaking before traveling to Brussels on Sunday to attend the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council, Kyprianou said “we always anticipe progress, but just as the President has remarked, this is a process which will take time and we should not expect at every meeting to say whether there has been progress or not”.
“We had warned from the start that this would be a difficult and time-consuming procedure and that we must be prepared for it”, the Minister said, adding that ideally, “what we want is at every meeting to make a step forward”.
Referring to the issues that will be examined during the General Affairs and External Relations Council meeting on Monday – to be chaired by Bernard Kouchner, the French Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, – which will prepare the European Council meeting in December, Kyprianou said that it will be devoted to the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the political and security situation in Iraq and a discussion on civilian crisis management capabilities.
Kyprianou said that what is important for Cyprus is the discussion for the EU-Russia summit, which will take place on 14 November. He said that the start of negotiations for a new general cooperation agreement between the EU and Russia has been postponed due to the Georgia crisis but certain preconditions that were put forward were met, therefore Cyprus believes that a date for these discussions can be set.
The foreign affairs ministers, joined by their defence counterparts, will then examine draft conclusions on the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP), inter alia, on operations, civilian and military crisis management capabilities and partnerships for security interests. They will also review the French Presidency’s initiatives intended to give new impetus to the ESDP, presented at the informal meeting of the defence ministers in Deauville. Lastly, they will take stock of the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina and in Afghanistan, in the presence of the NATO Secretary General.
UN-led direct negotiations for a Cyprus settlement began in September 2008 between Cyprus President Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Talat. So far the two leaders have held six meetings, covering the issue of governance and power- sharing. They are scheduled to have two meetings this week.
Cyprus, which joined the EU in 2004, has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third.
