Turkish Cypriot leader says Greek side insistent on return of assets

Talat met his Greek Cypriot counterpart Demetris Christofias under the extensive talks aiming at finding a lasting solution to the Cyprus issue, and exchanged views on the topic of ownership.

Both parties would announce their proposals for the criteria, determining in which situations any of the three options would be applied, at the 19th round of extensive talks to be held Jan.12, Talat was quoted by the Anatolian Agency as telling reporters after Wednesday’s meeting.

Talat said it was hard to tell whether their positions on the issue overlap with the Greek Cypriot side, as proposals for the criteria to be applied would be presented at the next meeting.

Cyprus has been divided since 1964 when Turkish Cypriots were forced to withdraw into enclaves.

Talat and Christofias began peace talks in last September after a four-year hiatus, marking the first major push for peace since the failure of a U.N. reunification plan in 2004, which was approved by Turkish Cypriots but overwhelmingly rejected by Greek Cypriots.

Neither side sees permanent partition as an option, but they have been unable to agree on how the island will be reunited. On paper, they agree to a bi-zonal federation, though issues like power-sharing, territorial swaps and a raft of complex property disputes make a deal difficult.