Leaders to meet today -13th December
The two leaders, President Mustafa Akıncı and the Greek Cypriot Leader Nikos Anastasiades will meet today to prepare for the negotiations which will take place on 12 January 2017 in Geneva.
The meeting will begin at 7.30pm in the UN buffer zone.
President Akıncı also received the Ambassador of Netherlands in Nicosia, Nathalie Jaarsma yesterday. No statement was made to the press following the meeting at the Presidency.
Çavuşoğlu: “We have not made any concessions on the issues of security and guarantees”
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu emphasized that no concessions have been made on the issues of security and guarantees in Cyprus.
Addressing the Turkish Grand National Assembly, the Turkish Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu said that the Cyprus negotiation process was being carried out transparently and there was full consensus from the Turkish side regarding the framework of the agreement to be reached, as well as the need to introduce a timetable for the talks.
Çavuşoğlu underlined the importance of a timetable and reiterated that the Cyprus negotiation process could not continue as an open-ended process. He stated: “Of course we cannot negotiate this way forever. The talks started, they have proceeded, and now it is time for a timetable. Irrespective of whether or not the talks will succeed, everyone needs to see what is ahead of them. The aim is not to pressure or rush anyone, but it is not possible to negotiate indefinitely.”
Çavuşoğlu also added, “We have made no concessions, particularly on the issue of security and guarantees”.
Burcu: “The reconvened talks will lead to the Cyprus Conference with the participation of the three guarantor countries”
Presidential Spokesperson Barış Burcu stated that the new phase of negotiations, which will start with the meeting of President Mustafa Akıncı and Greek Cypriot Leader Nikos Anastasiades in Geneva on 9 January, will lead to the Cyprus Conference with the participation of the representatives of the three guarantor countries – Turkey, Greece and the UK – on 12 January.
However, Burcu warned that “Any explanation or publication about the formation and participation of the Cyprus Conference is unrealistic and speculative.”
In his statement, Presidential Spokesperson Burcu noted that speculative reports, citing Greek Cypriot officials, were being published and circulated in the Greek Cypriot media regarding the formation and participation of the Cyprus Conference.
Burcu said, “As we stated several times before, the formation and type of participation at the Cyprus Conference was agreed by all parties, with the support of the United Nations (UN), on 1 December 2016. The content of this agreement was announced to the public by the UN Secretary General’s Special Adviser on Cyprus Espen Barth Eide, on behalf of the two leaders.”
The congregation of the five parties, which are directly involved in the solution of the Cyprus problem and the security and guarantees issues, will be sufficient for the formation and the beginning of the Cyprus Conference. Other relevant parties can be invited to the conference as needed and if approved by all parties. Any explanation or statement about the formation and participation of the Cyprus Conference, apart from this agreement, is unrealistic and without merit.”
1192 of 2001 missing persons have been found
Since its excavation project started in 2006, the Missing Persons Committee has now found a total of 1192 of 2001 missing persons. The Committee aims to determine the identities of missing persons who were lost due to the conflicts in Cyprus between 1963-1964 and in 1974, and to return them to their families.
The Missing Persons Committee has been working across the island for 10 years to ease the missing persons’ families’ distress.
The teams of the committee have undertaken 1119 excavations to find 2001 missing persons – 1508 Greek Cypriots and 493 Turkish Cypriots. They have currently found the remains of 1192 missing persons. The identities of 553 Greek Cypriots and 184 Turkish Cypriots, a total of 737 missing persons, have been determined and returned to their families.
Source: TRNC Public Information Office –
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I find it totally unbelievable that talks are continuing – what’s the point – it’s like hitting your head against a brick wall. Get embargoes lifted, get NC recognised as an independent country – who wants to join the Euro anyway, its on its way out.