As agreed at last week's initial meeting between President Glafcos Clerides and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, Monday saw the first in a thrice-weekly series of direct talks aimed at reuniting the island.
The 90-minute meeting took place in a specially established conference hall inside the United Nations Protected Area (UNPA) at Nicosia Airport under a strict news blackout. Clerides and Denktash meet in the presence of the UN Secretary-General's special adviser for Cyprus, Alvaro de Soto, who has also brought in his own small team of legal experts and plans to remain on the island for the duration of the talks.
In the absence of any hard information about what takes place in the discussions, there is intense speculation. Reports yesterday suggested the two sides were due to tackle matters relating to the duties of a central government. The general secretary of the Movement of Patriotic Unity, Izzet Izcan, told reporters Denktash had lost "a lot of support in the past", but added that by returning to the negotiating table he had raised expectations among Turkish Cypriots. Izcan added it was clear Denktash was still talking about "two sovereignties and, without mentioning the name 'confederation', a two-state solution".
"We do not agree with him and it is our duty to enlighten our community in order to influence this peace process," he said. Speaking before yesterday's meeting, Government Spokesman Papapetrou dismissed as "totally unsubstantiated" allegations in the Turkish Cypriot press that a bi-communal group had prepared either a solution plan for the Cyprus question or a draft constitution.
"I wish to deny categorically allegations that the Harvard group has prepared a constitutional plan. There has never been any attempt to draft a constitution, least of all a solution plan, simply because bi-communal groups do not deal with such matters," Papapetrou said.
.
Network Tweets
Network BlogsContent
provided by
|
Archive | Resources | Partners | Site Map | Links | Newsletter Archive | Contact | RSS Feeds | About | Syndication | Advertising & Marketing | Recruitment | Terms & Conditions | Privacy & Cookies
Copyright © 2012 - All Rights Reserved - Tax-News.com
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Tax-News.com has taken reasonable care in sourcing and presenting the information contained on this site, but accepts no responsibility for any financial or other loss or damage that may result from its use. In particular, users of the site are advised to take appropriate professional advice before committing themselves to involvement in offshore jurisdictions, offshore trusts or offshore investments.
Write a comment