Cyprus reunification talks have regained momentum – UN envoy

Talks aimed at reaching an agreement that will lead to the reunification of the Mediterranean island of Cyprus have gathered pace since Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met with the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities earlier this month, the United Nations special adviser on the issue said today.

“The important thing is that the process maintains real momentum,” Alexander Downer told reporters in New York after briefing the Security Council in a closed-door session.

“That momentum slowed down very much during the last two or three months and I think with the Secretary-General’s meeting on 18 November that momentum has picked up again and it is up to the leaders, of course, to maintain that momentum into the future,” Mr. Downer said.

The meeting between Mr. Ban and the Greek Cypriot leader, Dimitris Christofias, and the Turkish Cypriot leader, Dervis Eroglu, took place in New York.

Mr. Christofias and Mr. Eroglu are due to meet again in Cyprus tomorrow and on Thursday and get together again on 6 December, Mr. Downer said.

“We expect there to be other meetings before the end of the year … and then other meetings during the first month of next year, [and] around 25 or 26 January the Secretary-General will be meeting again with the two leaders and will be interested to hear from them on the progress that they have made,” he added.

The two sides launched the talks in 2008 and committed themselves to working towards a bi-communal, bi-zonal federation with political equality, as defined by relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

Mr. Downer said the process has “a good structure” and is unlikely to collapse, but added that negotiations on the “very complex” question of property had become “bogged down” before the Secretary-General met the two leaders. He stressed that it is important that the leaders maintain the political will and the optimism of the public that an agreement is possible.

He expressed appreciation for the Council’s strong support to the process and pledged the UN team’s continued support for the talks.