People of Cyprus and international community want a solution, not endless talks, says Ban

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon yesterday urged the leaders of the two communities in Cyprus to pick up the pace in the Cyprus peace process.

In a brief statement after a he met with Christofias and Eroglu at UN headquarters in New York yesterday, Ban said he had invited the leaders to meet with him because the talks on Cyprus were losing momentum and needed a boost if the two sides are to reach a settlement while there is still the time and the political opportunity to do so”.

“Only the leaders can give the talks a boost,” he added. “The United Nations can support them, as we have been doing through the work of my Special Adviser and his team. But only the leaders can arrive at a solution”.

He said that when he visited the island earlier this year, he could feel the hope and expectation among people on both sides for a settlement that would finally reunify Cyprus and real progress was being made in the talks.

The UN chief added that “that sense of anticipation has faded, however, as talks continued throughout the remainder of the year without clear progress or a clear end in sight” but added that the message of urgency was driven home to both sides.

He said he had made it clear to both leaders that the UN respects these talks as a Cypriot-led process and that it is precisely for that reason that they expect the Cypriot sides to assume their responsibility to drive this process toward a solution.

“The people of Cyprus and the international community want a solution, not endless talks”, he stressed. “I believe the leaders understand this. I hope today’s meeting has helped restore momentum,” he said.

He said that both leaders told him they recognize the need to move more quickly and decisively in order to reach a settlement.

Noting that serious differences remained between the two sides, the UN chief said the leaders expressed their commitment to work together, as partners, toward that goal. They had agreed to intensify their contacts in the coming weeks, and the three would meet again in Geneva in late January.

“In the meantime, the leaders will identify further convergences and the core issues which still need to be resolved, across all chapters. That, in turn, will help the United Nations determine its own next steps”, he said.

The UN chief also said that projecting positive messages is critical if any agreement is to be trusted and embraced by the respective publics in referenda.

Neither Ban nor the two leaders took questions afterwards. The Secretary-General explaining that this was due to “the sensitive nature of the discussions.”

The talks were preceded by a working lunch hosted by Ban for the two leaders.
The three men then took time to join hands in a three-way handshake during a photo-op before getting down to business.

Attending the meeting, in addition to the leaders, were George Iacovou, Eroglu’s advisor Kudret Özersay, Downer and the UN’s Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe. Christofias’ party to New York also included expert on constitutional law Toumazos Tselepis.

Before the meal, Eroglu was quoted by Anadolu news agency saying he expected the Secretary-General to ask the leaders for their thoughts on how to break the deadlock on some of the negotiating chapters.
Asked whether he was optimistic, the Turkish Cypriot leader offered the perfunctory answer: “Certainly, every meeting provides hope, and that is why we are coming to this meeting with good will.”

Reports said UN Special Adviser Alexander Downer, also in New York for the meeting, will today have a follow-up meeting there with Christofias and Eroglu. Downer and the two leaders are also set to meet again back in Cyprus next week.

According to the CyBC’s New York correspondent, the agenda of yesterday’s meeting was fixed only at the eleventh hour, despite Downer having told newsmen on Wednesday the meeting held no surprises in store and that the two leaders would be “happy” with the format.

The meeting came days before Ban is due to submit to the Security Council a progress report on the talks and whose conclusions both sides are eagerly awaiting. Ban said yesterday his report would be “fair and frank”.

Reports from New York suggested the Secretary-General was considering another progress review in February of 2011.

Though the UN has said no deadline for a settlement exists, it has also stressed that the talks cannot be allowed to drag on forever.

President Christofias left New York yesterday saying he was very satisfied with the results of the meeting between him, Eroglu and the UN S-G.

“I came to New York after having been bombarded with a load of conjecture and catastrophic speculations. I am leaving New York very satisfied with the results of this meeting”, he stressed.

“None of the speculation was founded. There are no timeframes, there is no threat by anybody and there is no intention by the Secretary General to exert pressure. His press release is crystal clear, at least in my evaluation and the way I interpret it. I return to Cyprus satisfied” , added.

He stressed: “We want a solution to the Cyprus problem; we do not want talks for the sake of talks. This is well known. And we will do whatever is possible in order to break the deadlock. I hope that we will succeed.”

According to the Turkish press, in statements after the meeting Dervis Eroglu said they will continue the negotiations with good will.

He added: “It was a useful meeting. The negotiations will continue in an intensified manner. The UN Secretary-General will show in January whether he will continue his good offices mission”.

Eroglu said that six chapters exist in the negotiations and that there are some deadlocks today. He said they had discussed what efforts they could exert to overcome these deadlocks and that they had decided to evaluate the situation during the meeting in Geneva.