National Council completes marathon meeting without a joint statement

The National Council yesterday completed six days of meetings on the Cyprus problem but members were unable to reach a consensus to issue a joint statement afterwards not even on the principles of a future solution.

Government Spokesman Stefanos Stefanou expressed his regret that this had not proved possible, but said that a detailed discussion and in-depth dialogue had taken place and the political parties expressed their positions and views on all issues of the Cyprus problem.

"One of the issues discussed at the National Council was the direct trade regulation. We have reaffirmed the decision of the Republic of Cyprus to defend itself with all political and legal means available, with the aim to block the regulation on direct trade, in the framework of the efforts made by the Presidency of the Republic. The Presidency of the Republic, in cooperation with the political parties, will promote our proposal for the return of the city of Famagusta to the United Nations and the commencement of trade in the framework of legality and under the auspices of the European Union”.

He said, however, that the talks would be resumed on the same basis as agreed between the leaders of the two communities and from the point they had left off .

"This is how we will continue, always, with the aim to achieve a solution to the Cyprus problem”, he said.

The Cyprus Mail reports that Cypriot and international policymakers will be meeting today and tomorrow in Brussels to discuss the issue of property in the peace talks. The conference is being organised by PRIO (Peace Research institute Oslo) Cyprus Centre and the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS). The one-and-a-half-day event will be a closed meeting of Greek Cypriot, Turkish Cypriot and international experts, academics, practitioners, civil society representatives and senior policy-makers.

According to a PRIO announcement, the conference will provide a venue for an in-depth exploration of the property dispute in Cyprus. “This will include an analysis of the current situation but, more importantly, a discussion on practical ways of addressing property claims while taking into account both individual rights and communal concerns,” said the statement.

Apart from looking at the technicalities of how the property issue may be resolved, the conference will consider what an eventual resolution of the issue might imply for the inhabitants of Cyprus.

In an interview with Turkish Anatolia news agency at UN headquarters in New York, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that although no timetable had been set, this did not mean that the Cyprus negotiations could continue forever.

Ban said his Special Adviser on Cyprus Alexander Downer would be making efforts to facilitate the process, which resumes on May 26.
Ban also noted recent statements by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that he strongly supported the Cyprus talks added momentum to the negotiations.

“I have extended strong support to negotiations and I continue to do so. More than 70 meetings have taken place between the two leaders in the past 18 months. This is an extremely positive development,” he said.