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Cypriot President reports unexpected progress in reunification negotiations

Xinhua, May 2, 2017 Adjust font size:

In an encouraging change in the troubled Cyprus reunification negotiations, the country's President Nicos Anastasiades announced progress on core issues discussed at a new meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci on Tuesday.

"We have had a constructive meeting today," Anastasiades said after a four-hour negotiating session with Akinci in the presence of the United Nations (UN) Secretary General's special adviser on Cyprus, Espen Barth Eide.

The announcement came against the background of two earlier meetings which ended in sharp disagreements.

Anastasiades said they made progress on the definition of the term "permanent residence" and on the issue of applying the four so-called basic border freedoms of the European Union (EU) -- freedom of movement of people and capital, and establishment of residence and business.

He also said that progress was made on the issue of the effective participation of the Turkish Cypriots, who make up about 22 percent of the island's population, in federal institutions.

Sources familiar with the negotiations said that the progress was due mostly to the Turkish Cypriot side withdrawing objections and demands it raised after agreement on these issues was made in the early stages of the negotiations.

"But there are still some points related to what has been agreed which are still pending and must be ironed out," Anastasiades warned.

The Cypriot President also said it was still too early to resume the international conference on Cyprus that ended in failure last November, after Turkey put forward a demand for its citizens to be accorded the four basic EU freedoms.

"When enough progress will have been achieved, there will be no reason not to return to the international conference," said Anastasiades.

The Cypriot President, representing the Greek community, and Akinci have been in talks for two years on how to end the partition of Cyprus, brought about by Turkish troops who occupied the northern part of the island in 1974, in reaction to a coup engineered by the military rulers of Greece at the time.

There is an air of urgency to the negotiations as presidential elections are scheduled for next February in Cyprus, which is run exclusively by the Greek Cypriots since the Turkish Cypriots pulled out of the government. Endit