Neither deadlock, nor progress

The leaders of the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities in Cyprus Dimitris Christofias and Mehmet Ali Talat yesterday met for five hours yesterday continuing their discussions on power sharing and governance. This time no media representatives were allowed anywhere near the venue.

In comments after the meeting, Talat said there was “neither deadlock nor great progress, but nor could it be called unproductive. He added that once the issue of governance and power sharing was exhausted and they moved on to property, it did not necessarily mean agreement would have been reached on the first topic. “It will just mean that we have discussed all aspects,” he said.

His words were echoed by Christofias who, on his return to the Presidential Palace after the meeting, said: “We are moving forward but there are some pending issues”. Christofias said the discussion on this particular topic had not been completed and that it would be taken up again when the leaders next meet on October 8. He said at the next meeting they would take up the issue of executive power, which was part of the overall chapter on governance and power sharing. These included discussions on the powers of the central government, legislative authority, judicial authority, and the mechanism for the resolution of disputes. “There are a lot of issues, so it will take time,” he said.

Christofias said the climate of yesterday’s meeting was good. “The meetings always take place in a friendly spirit, regardless of whether we agree or not,” he said.Before the meeting Christofias told the press when asked about Talat’s recent public statements: “What counts for me is what he promises during that talks which I hope he will abide by,” he said. "Mr. Talat says and accepts one thing inside and proclaims another outside. People should know this.”

He also said no settlement could be reached unless the two leaders were speaking the same language. “I told Mr Talat that he should appear more reasonable and to extend his hand, otherwise if we don't find a common language, a solution won't be found either at the end of this or any other year,” Christofias added.

The process so far has had its ups and downs, the more recent ones being accusations against Talat for breaking a self-imposed news blackout that the two leaders had agreed upon. The mood improved somewhat at the weekend when they both attended a bicommunal youth peace initiative and joined hands while pledging to work for a solution.