Leaders meet for dinner in the buffer zone
President Mustafa Akıncı and Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Anastasiades met at a dinner hosted by the UN Secretary General’s Special Advisor, Espen Barth Eide at the Ledra Palace Hotel in the buffer zone last night (Sunday 2nd April).
The UN released a statement following the dinner, which lasted four and a half hours. According to the statement, the Special Advisor to the Secretary-General, Espen Barth Eide, would remain in contact with both leaders, who will be abroad in the coming days, in order to lay the groundwork for the resumption of the negotiations. The statement also emphasized that the leaders had an open and constructive dialogue about the way forward.
An updated version of the UN’s statement added the following line to the original text: “The two leaders reconfirmed their joint commitment to finding a solution in the best interest of all Cypriots, taking into account the concerns of both communities”.
Akıncı to meet with UNSG Guterres before attending Eurasian Economic Summit in İstanbul
President Mustafa Akıncı will meet with the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in Brussels before addressing the 20th Eurasian Economic Summit as the guest of honour in İstanbul.
President Akıncı will travel to Brussels today for the meeting with Guterres tomorrow, ahead of travelling to Istanbul in order to speak at Wednesday’s summit, where he is due to participate as a guest. The President will return to the island on Friday, April 7.
It has been announced that the main agenda of this year’s Eurasian Economic Summit will be, “Humanity at a Crossroad”.
The summit will also be attended by President of Albania Bujar Nishani, President of Bosnia-Herzegovina Mladen Ivanic, President of Macedonia Gjorge Ivanov, Former President of Turkey Abdullah Gül, the Former Presidents of Albania, Austria, Croatia, Latvia, Moldova, Romania and Serbia, the Vice-Presidents of Azerbaijan and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Vice-Presidents of the Assembly of Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and other ministers.
Numerous ambassadors will also be in attendance, as well as representatives from research centres and Presidents of the Chambers of Commerce of Greece, Belgium, Ukraine, Slovenia, Macedonia, China, Bulgaria, Bangladesh and Austria.
Prime Minister Özgürgün welcomes the Confederation of Independent Football Associations
Prime Minister Hüseyin Özgürgün last week received the President of the Confederation of Independent Football Associations (CONIFA) and his accompanying board members, who are in the TRNC for the championship tournament.
In his speech at the reception, Prime Minister Özgürgün emphasized that politics should not be allowed to influence sports, and congratulated the Cyprus Turkish Football Association (CTFA) for organising the event. Pointing out that the Turkish Cypriot sportsmen and women continue to be embargoed from international sporting events, Özgürgün said that the presence of the CONIFA delegates in the TRNC proves that such restrictions cannot inhibit the country from participating in the sport.
Denktaş: Resolution to talks “not possible” with the Greek Cypriot side’s current understanding of a fair solution
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Serdar Denktaş, has outlined the difficulties in reaching a successful resolution to the Cyprus talks, as a result of the Greek Cypriot side’s current understanding of the issues at stake and definition of a fair solution.
Denktaş made the comments while speaking at a conference entitled, “The Latest Developments in the Cyprus Negotiations and the Aftermath”, organized by the European University of Lefke (EUL) on Friday.
In his speech, Denktaş spoke about Cyprus’ history, and indicated that the outcome desired by the Turkish Cypriots is a new state formed by two equal states, a new Republic, and the continuation of Turkey’s full and effective guarantees. Denktaş, who also spoke about the referendum on the Annan Plan, stated that the Greek Cypriot side’s attitude presented challenges in reaching a successful conclusion to the talks. Before taking questions from participants, he pointed to the Greek Cypriot Parliament’s decision to commemorate the Enosis plebiscite in schools, as well as Anastasiades’ statement stressing that “the minority cannot dominate the majority”.
TRNC Ministry of Foreign Affairs mourns the loss of diplomat Uğur Umar
A final farewell has been organized for Uğur Umar, one of the diplomats of the TRNC Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who lost his life on Friday. Prime Minister Hüseyin Özgürgün, The Minister of Labour and Social Security Hamza Ersan Saner who is acting for Foreign Minister Ertuğruloğlu, members of parliament, fellow workers and members of Umar’s family attended the farewell ceremony organized at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In a speech, Prime Minister Hüseyin Özgürgün said that he was greatly saddened by the loss of one of his fellow workers and talked about working with Uğur Umar in Strasbourg. Stating that Umar was an honest and hardworking person, Özgürgün said, “We have lost an honest friend. I wish that God rests his soul and I convey my condolences to his grieving family.”
Alongside his many missions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Umar represented the TRNC as the Representative for Strasbourg and Consul in İzmir, and was finally appointed to the TRNC Representative Office in Abu Dhabi. Umar passed away last Friday in Ankara, where he had been receiving treatment.
Source: TRNC Public Information Office –
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