Steady progress being made in Cyprus reunification talks, UN envoy says

Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders are making steady progress on the issue of governance as part of broader United Nations-sponsored negotiations aimed at reunifying the Mediterranean island, a top UN envoy said today.

“This is an enormously important negotiation for the people of Cyprus and inevitably it’s going to take time. Inevitably the negotiations are going to be difficult negotiations, but they are making progress,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Adviser for Cyprus Alexander Downer told a news conference in Nicosia.

Representatives from both sides will have a further discussion on Friday on the question of the legislature to deal with some of the points of divergence between Greek Cypriot leader Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat.

In May, Mr. Christofias and Mr. Talat committed to a partnership that will comprise a Federal Government with a single international identity, along with a Turkish Cypriot Constituent State and a Greek Cypriot Constituent State, which will be of equal status.

The issues of governance and power-sharing are central to resolving the problem of Cyprus, where UN peacekeepers have been deployed since March 1964 to prevent further fighting between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities.

“Frankly an expectation that you can just suddenly solve all these problems overnight is unrealistic,” Mr. Downer said. He is scheduled to meet separately with Mr. Christofias and Mr. Talat tomorrow.