Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 08-05-23

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From: The Cyprus News Agency at <http://www.cyna.org.cy>

CONTENTS

[01] CHRISTOFIAS - TALAT - MEETING

[01] CHRISTOFIAS - TALAT - MEETING

The two community leaders will also look into the possibility of beginning direct talks next month, with a view to reach a negotiated settlement that will reunite Cyprus, divided since the 1974 Turkish invasion.

In statements on Thursday evening, Christofias said that he is very open to have a friendly conversation with Talat, in a joint effort to move things forward.

The aim, he added, is not to stop the effort at the technical committees and the working groups but to push it forward and make it more effective, yield results and start direct discussions between the leaders of the two communities.

We are seeking a solution. This must be understood. The soonest possible, Christofias stressed.

Asked if he will put forward proposals to facilitate the process, Christofias pointed out that this is exactly why he had asked to meet Talat.

We want to serve this goal. Our objective is not to upset the process. On the contrary, we aim, and I believe Mr. Talat does too, to help the working groups produce results and work on a common basis, the President remarked.

Responding to questions, he welcomed statements by the Turkish Cypriot side that it is seeking a bizonal bicommunal federal solution.

Such remarks reaffirm the correct basis on which the working groups must work to achieve the desired result, he said.

In earlier statements the Turkish Cypriot side and Turkey itself had talked about the establishment of two separate states in Cyprus.

The technical committees and the working groups have been working for only a month so far and I believe it is neither right nor productive to say that things are not progressing well and we are ending the effort or interrupting it, he said.

The purpose of the exercise, he added, is not to interrupt the effort but to further promote it and render it effective to yield results and start a direct dialogue between the leaders of the two communities.

Six working groups and seven technical committees, set up in the context an agreement achieved on 21st March between President Christofias and the Talat, are meeting to prepare the ground for substantive negotiations between the two leaders.

The working groups are discussing governance and power sharing, EU matters, security and guarantees, territory, property and economic matters.

The technical committees are discussing crime and criminal matters, economic and commercial matters, cultural heritage, crisis management, humanitarian and health matters and the environment.

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