TRNC News Today 19th September 2014 - European Rally Championship in North and South Cyprus

The Cyprus Rally which will make the European Rally Championship’s 9th round and the Middle East Rally Championship’s 5th round is taking place today for the first time both in North and South Cyprus which will be hosted by Lefkoşa Turkish and Greek Cypriot Municipalities.

The Rally is making a start today under the umbrella of ‘Cyprus Automobile Association’ with the collaboration of Cyprus Turkish Touring and Automobile Association.

The organization which will start at 17:00 will be attended by world famous rally drivers from the European countries as well as drivers from the TRNC. The rally will include 15 special stages, for a total of 774.34 km. European Rally Championship’s Cyprus leg will be held between 19-21 September.

EIDE: “All problems can be resolved”

UN Secretary General’s Special Advisor on Cyprus, Espen Barth Eide stated that the Joint Statement signed by the leaders on February 11 is very strong and clear and not contradictory and he believes there are no big differences which the two Leaders cannot resolve.

Giving his first interview as the UN Secretary General’s Special Advisor on Cyprus, Eide said that the second stage of negotiations which was concluded was about clearing the positions of the two sides. Expressing that all positions of the sides regarding the issues are at the negotiation table, Eide said “Now, structured negotiations will start. Sides will try to overcome the differences and find a common ground. This is very different from what has been done over the last months”.

Furthermore, stating that the Turkish and Greek Cypriot Leaders have covered a long distance since the year 2008 when the negotiations started, Eide added that the Joint Statement which was signed on February 11, 2014 between President Derviş Eroğlu and Greek Cypriot Leader Nikos Anastasiades can be considered the most important achievement. Eide underlined that the Joint Statement is a strong statement which defines the current status quo as unacceptable.

UN Secretary General’s Special Advisor on Cyprus, Espen Barth Eide attended a lunch with the religious leaders of the two sides yesterday.

Speaking after the lunch Eide said that the religious leaders re-confirmed their strong support for working towards the reunification of the island and made commitment to do whatever is necessary to encourage their communities and the Leaders towards reaching a solution.

Assembly Delegation having meetings in Strasbourg

A delegation from the TRNC Assembly is having meetings with parliamentarians in Strasbourg where the General Assembly of the European Parliament is taking place.

Assembly delegation had a meeting with the Turkish Minister for European Affairs and the Chief Negotiator – Volkan Bozkır who is in Strasbourg. At the meeting, opinions regarding the Cyprus problem and Turkey-EU-Cyprus relations were exchanged.

Furthermore, Assembly delegation met with different political group representatives at the European Parliament and informed them about the latest stage reached at the Cyprus negotiations. The delegation also explained the expectations of the Turkish Cypriots from the European Union and the issue of Representation at the European Parliament.