Roundup: Cyprus leaders announce breakthrough in reunification talks

The leaders of the estranged Greek and Turkish communities of Cyprus announced an important breakthrough Monday on one of the thorniest chapters of their negotiations for the reunification of the eastern Mediterranean island.

Emissary Espen Barth Eide, who brokers the negotiations on behalf of the UN Secretary General, said President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci agreed on the modalities of resolving the issue of thousands of properties abandoned by their owners in 1974.

Turkish troops occupied the northern part of Cyprus acting in response to a coup engineered by officers of the Greek junta, forcing about one third of the Greek Cypriot population to flee to the government-controlled part of the island.

The properties of about 170,000 people were seized by Turkey and allocated either to Turkish Cypriots who relocated to the occupied part of Cyprus or to settlers from mainland Turkey.

Eide said the leaders decided at a scheduled meeting in the context of their negotiations that "the individual's right to property is respected." They also resolved to appoint an independent Property Commission to settle property claims based on agreed criteria.

"The leaders continued to make progress towards their shared vision of a united federal Cyprus," said Eide.

He said there shall be different alternatives for the regulation of the exercise of the rights by the owners of properties.

"These different choices shall include compensation, exchange and reinstatement. The exercise of any such choice shall be subject to agreed criteria," he added.

The Property Commission shall be made up of an equal number of Turkish and Greek Cypriot members.

Eide said the leaders will recess for August but instructed their negotiators to continue working on outstanding issues.

He said they welcomed the appointment of a personal representative of the European Commission to closely follow the negotiations and report to Jean-Claude Juncker, the Commission's president.

Anastasiades remarked to reporters after Monday's talks that the statement by the UN emissary "speaks for itself."

Meanwhile, Akinci told journalists that if he and Anastasiades continue on the same tempo there can be a solution within this year.

In a further move of reconciliation, Anastasiades and Akinci will attend a musical event on Tuesday night at the Othello Tower astride the port of the occupied city of Famagusta.

The Tower is the imaginary setting of Shakespeare's drama Othello.

It was recently reopened to tourists, following a restoration lasting eight months, as part of a joint drive by Greek and Turkish Cypriots to preserve Cyprus' cultural heritage.

Famagusta's 50,000 Greek Cypriot residents fled as the city was bombed by Turkish planes. It was taken by the Turkish troops and was fenced off since 1974, becoming a ghost city of decaying houses and plush hotels once frequented by the world's famous. Endit