UN envoy optimistic about new Cyprus peace talks

30/05/2008

The UN envoy in Cyprus said on Thursday he was encouraged by the "initiative and commitment" the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders have shown in efforts to end the island's decades-long division.

(Turkish Press - 30/05/08; AP, UN News Centre, CNA, Cyprus Mail, Financial Mirror, Xinhua, Turkish Daily News - 29/05/08; DPA - 28/05/08)

Cypriot President Demetris Christofias (right) and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat (left) shake hands after a meeting at the residence of UN Special Representative Taye-Brook Zerihoun (centre) last week. [Getty Images]

The top UN envoy in Cyprus praised on Thursday (May 29th) the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders for the determination they have shown towards reviving the peace process on their divided island.

"Recent developments give us many reasons for hope," Taye-Brook Zerihoun, who headed the UN mission in Cyprus earlier this month, said at a press conference in Nicosia.

The political will Cypriot President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat are displaying so far has created a new climate in Cyprus and the momentum should be maintained, he noted.

"We are encouraged ... by the initiative and the commitment the two leaders have shown," Zerihoun stressed.

On March 21st, Christofias and Talat agreed to set up working groups and technical committees before the launch of comprehensive UN-sponsored peace talks in June.

The two leaders met in Nicosia on May 23rd to assess progress but could not agree on a precise starting date for the negotiations. Speaking afterward, Talat said he and Christofias had "different views" as to whether the talks could still begin in June.

The two leaders "reaffirmed their commitment to a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation with political equality, as defined by relevant Security Council resolutions," a joint statement issued after the meeting said. "This partnership will have a federal government with a single international personality, as well as a Turkish Cypriot constituent state and a Greek Cypriot constituent state, which will be of equal status."

Asked whether it was realistic to expect the talks to begin next month, Zerihoun said on Thursday that the process is clearly moving in that direction.

Christofias and Talat "will be the ones to determine the degree to which this is realistic or not", he said. "[After] four decades or more, I think that a month here and a month there should not be an issue."

While describing the two leaders as "the masters" of the process towards a comprehensive settlement, Zerihoun pledged that the UN would assist them in achieving that goal.

Cypriot Presidential Commissioner George Iacovou said the six working groups and seven technical committees made progress but must do more. He pointed to improvements on "the thorny issues of the past, including the economy and relations with the European Union, constitutional issues and other [problems] involving joint rule" in remarks after talks with Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis.

Christofias and Talat will meet again in the second half of June. Speculation is emerging that the launch of the process might not occur until September.