Cypriot leaders to discuss foreign relations

The Cypriot leaders are discussing the issue of foreign relations in the federal government under the title of "Administration and Share of Power" in their 13th meeting under the full-fledged talks aiming at finding a permanent solution to the Cyprus issue.

Alexander Downer, U.N. Special Envoy to the United Nations Secretary-General on Cyprus, is also attending the meeting in the buffer zone in Nicosia.

The next meeting will be held on Jan. 5, 2009.

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

Talat and his Christofias began peace talks in 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.

Despite twelve face-to-face meetings, the two sides have made little tangible progress.

TURKISH CYPRIOTS' PROPOSALS
The Turkish Cypriot administration made public its foreign affairs proposals last week.

"The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) has proposed that the founder states should consent to decisions regarding foreign affairs and to be made in the level of the federal government if the issue was one concerning them," news agencies quoted the Turkish Cypriot proposals as saying.

The Turkish Cypriots have proposed the founder states will only be consulted in other foreign affairs issues.

Founder states shall appoint representatives that have a diplomatic status in issues concerning their own field of authority.

These representatives will be in the list of diplomats of the united federal state.

Founder states can sign agreements on all issues under their field of authority, the agency said. However, the federal government can prevent agreements under some circumstances defined beforehand.

According to the proposal, the federal government can suspend any agreement process if a founder state try to sign an agreement with a state that is not recognized by the federal government or that has no diplomatic relations with the federal government.

Any agreement of the federal state shall be enacted after ratification of the legislative organs of the founder states.

The Turkish Cypriots also proposed that the ambassadors and their deputies in foreign representations of the United Cyprus should be appointed from different founder states.

The proposal also said the heads of mission to be sent to the United Nations, European Union and the Council of Europe, the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, Greece and Turkey should be equally shared by the two founder states.

The federal decisions on some important issues such as recognition of a state, and the establishment or interruption of diplomatic relations, can be made by the chairmanship council.