Roundup: Cyprus reunification negotiations reaching potential impasse, president tells parties

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades was reported on Monday as saying that negotiations to reunify the partitioned island were heading towards a potential impasse as a result of Turkish hardline demands.

Party leaders emerging from a meeting of the National Council -- an advisory body made up of the leaders of the parliamentary parties -- said Anastasiades was disappointed with the latest developments at his negotiations with Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci.

"If things do not change during the next three meetings with Mustafa Akinci, the inability to continue to search for a solution will be confirmed," Anastasiades was reported as telling the meeting.

Sources with inside information said on condition of anonymity that Anastasiades also said he did not expect a softer line from Turkey after the constitutional referendum on April 16 which will give President Recep Tayyip Erdogan additional powers.

He reasoned that the slim majority by which Erdogan obtained a "yes" result in the referendum and the fact that the vote result is being challenged by the opposition in the courts means the Turkish government is preoccupied and unable to make moves on Cyprus.

Akinci is reportedly also insisting that Turkish Cypriots, who make up one fifth of the population, have veto power over all government decisions relating to federal issues, such as the economy, foreign relations, including with the European Union (EU), and air space control.

Anastasiades further said that a Turkish move to send a seismic data ship to make a survey in Cyprus jurisdiction waters did not contribute to a climate of good will and trust.

Anastasiades and Akinci had made unprecedented progress towards resolving the long-standing Cyprus problem in almost two years of negotiations which started in May 2015.

But a reversal of the trend emerged when Turkey, Greece, and the United Kingdom -- the 1960 guarantor powers of Cyprus -- met at the invitation of the United Nation in Switzerland last November to discuss future security arrangements after a solution.

"From that point on, nothing positive came out of the negotiations. On the contrary, a reversal of the process was marked," Anastasiades was reported as telling the group that visited him recently.

Despite the negative assessment of the situation, Cyprus's government spokesman said the government was still willing to go ahead with the dialogue. Endit