Turkish, Greek Cypriot leaders discuss EU matters
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat and his Greek Cypriot counterpart Demetris Christofias discussed Wednesday European Union matters as part of peace negotiations aimed at finding a comprehensive settlement in the island. (UPDATED)
The U.N. Secretary-General's Special Adviser on Cyprus Alexander Downer said the two leaders first held bilateral talks in their 22nd meeting in
Downer was quoted by the Anatolian Agency as saying that a group of experts and representatives of both leaders would meet on Friday and Monday to discuss technical and legal arrangements on EU matters.
Talat and Christofias would later meet on March 17 for the 23rd time in order to review the report to be prepared by the experts, Downer also said.
Downer said that neither EU nor any of its institutions would be involved in the process when asked about possible EU involvement in the negotiation process in the island.
He said that EU officials were holding talks in
Talat told reporters that his country accepted the U.N. as its addressee in the ongoing negotiation process in
Technical and legal support could be requested from the EU in the negotiation process; however, the union would not have any political intervention in the talks.
"We may request technical and legal support. Apart from that, the EU will definitely have no political intervention in the process. The talks continue and we have no other addressee than United Nations," Talat was quoted by the Anatolian Agency as saying.
Talat and Christofias last September began reunification talks, which have so far showed few signs of tangible progress, after a four-year hiatus.
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 bizonal federation, though issues like power-sharing, territorial swaps and a raft of complex property disputes make a deal difficult.