Talks moving on

The UN Secretary-general’s Special Adviser on Cyprus Alexander Downer said yesterday he still believed ongoing negotiations on finding a solution to the Cyprus problem would result in success – albeit more slowly than some had hoped.

“I think obviously the process will go into 2009 and as long as the momentum is sustained they can achieve a good solution in the end,” Downer said after a two-and-a- half-hour meeting between Christofias and Talat.

Yesterday’s meeting was the eighth since the talks were launched on September 3 and focussed on the single issue of governance and power-sharing. Neither of the leaders made comments as they left the meeting, preferring to leave Downer to brief the press.

According to the Cyprus Mail the talks have been fraught with difficulties, with Christofias and Talat frequently trading barbs via the media. Most recently, the paper says, Greek Cypriots this week accused Turkish Cypriots of having a philosophical approach not compatible with the agreed federal setup of a future joint state. The Turkish Cypriots responded by saying it was committed to a federation but one in which it could govern its own affairs. Earlier bickering focussed on the issues of Turkish military guarantees – something the Turkish Cypriot side says is non-negotiable – and whether a solution would mean a continuation of the existing Cyprus Republic. So far, none of these issues have been resolved.

Despite the prevailing public feelings of negativity surrounding the negotiations, Downer said he remained optimistic, insisting that “the process is working quite well now. It is working a lot better than it did initially”.

Asked when he thought the two leaders and their teams would move on to the second item on their agenda, Downer said, “There is no particular time laid down for that but they made good progress on the judiciary and they are moving on Monday to discuss deadlock-resolving mechanisms, and I think you could hope they could get to property before too long”.

His comments were later echoed by Christofias, who agreed property could be on the agenda before the end of the year.“Today, Downer is justified in saying that more progress has been achieved than before,” Christofias said. “We have done well today, to a certain extent. Generally speaking, yes, we have taken some steps forward.”

Downer was at pains yesterday to focus on the more positive aspects of discussions so far, and stressed on the need for the two sides to “maintain momentum”. He added, however, the belief that it would be counter-productive to set what he described as “artificial deadlines” or time limits to the negotiations, saying that such an approach “would actually make the process more difficult rather than easier”. Asked how momentum would be maintained into the coming year Downer said, “I think that is a question of the political will of the leaders,” adding: “I have spent a lot of time with them now, I have come to know them and they are people who do have the political will to find a solution”.