Cyprus Talks: South Cyprus expects UN move to revive peace talks

The Greek Cypriot government is waiting for a United Nations move to revive Cyprus reunification talks in limbo for more than a year, an official said on Monday. 

The position of our own side, regardless of any other discussion…is that, yes, we want, and we expect the UN Secretary General to take the initiative to re-start the negotiation from where they left off, government spokesman Prodromos Prodromou told reporters.

He made the comment after President Nicos Anastasiades briefed political party leaders on Monday about the last week’s visit of UN envoy Jane Holl Lute.

Lute was on Cyprus for consultations with the Cypriot leaders to see if a door can be opened towards a resumption of negotiations.

Lute will also hold consultations in Athens, London and Brussels. She’s already had contact with Ankara.

She is expected to compile a report in September for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres who appointed Lute to see if the sides had narrowed their difference since the failure of a Swiss summit in July 2017.

Asked about the prospect of there being no grounds to restart talks, Prodromou said:

We will see if there is such a possibility. Right now, the position of our side is absolutely positive, just as the UNSG expects.

The last talks aimed at reunifying the island as a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation collapsed in Switzerland a year ago after the UN chief failed to get the parties to agree on a post-settlement security arrangement for Cyprus.

It was the first time Cyprus talks involved the guarantor powers of Britain, Greece and Turkey.

Under the island’s 1960 treaty of independence, the three countries secured intervention rights to safeguard the island’s sovereignty, but the Greek Cypriots want these scrapped while the Turkish Cypriots are reluctant to do so.

The other stumbling block is that Anastasiades wants all Turkish troops to leave the island after a solution is reached while Turkey is opposed to this idea.


SOURCEfinancialmirror
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