Shuttle talks will deal with the essence

THE U.N. shuttle talks will not concentrate simply on military matters, but will also encompass the essence of the Cyprus problem, House President Spyros Kyprianou said yesterday.

Speaking after a meeting with President Glafcos Clerides, Kyprianou said that although emphasis would be placed on military matters, particularly that of armaments, during the first stages of the talks, this issue had not come up during his meeting with UN representative Dame Ann Hercus, who is holding the shuttle talks, or that of Clerides and Hercus.

He said the discussions so far had been general in nature.

Hercus is to meet Clerides again next Wednesday and will then meet Denktash on Thursday.

Denktash meanwhile, has reiterated that if his plan for a confederal solution is not accepted, he will press on with plans for closer alignment of the occupied areas with mainland Turkey.

Denktash described the confederation proposal as an attempt to create a “bridge of peace” between Greece and Turkey over Cyprus.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.