Clerides in Athens ahead of Geneva talks

PRESIDENT Glafcos Clerides held discussions in Athens yesterday ahead of his arrival in Switzerland today in order to begin the third round of UN sponsored proximity talks tomorrow.

He had a 45-minute meeting with Greek President Costis Stephanopoulos, which was described as "very positive and cordial". At noon he met Greek premier Costas Simitis.

The Greek Cypriot delegation included Foreign Minister, Yiannakis Cassoulides, Attorney-general Alecos Markides, Government Spokesman Michalis Papapetrou, Under-secretary to the President Pantelis Kouros and ambassador to Greece Christodoulos Pasiardes.

Meanwhile, Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash also made his final preparations before flying into Geneva today.

He likened his intentions for the talks as a "test" of the "mentality that was trying to persuade the Turkish Cypriots to forget about their own state and get attached to the so called State of Cyprus".

It is this line insisting on equal sovereign rights that has most angered high profile diplomats involved in the negotiations. Speaking at the weekend, US Ambassador to the UN Richard Holbrooke blamed Denktash’s attitude for "stopping the process cold".

Turkish Cypriot authorities, however, are insisting on at least a degree of acknowledgement from the Republic before contemplating a negotiated conclusion to the Cyprus problem.

"A man demeans, shuns and humiliates his fiancée, but says ‘don’t worry, everything will be fine when we’re married’. I ask you what kind of marriage will that be? The trust must come from somewhere," explained Denktash’s under secretary Ergun Olgun.

But last week’s retaliatory measures against Unficyp by the Turkish Cypriots have not made for a promising background to the talks.

Turkish soldiers have advanced 300 to 400 metres and have erected a new checkpoint, violating the status quo established the 1974 invasion.

UN spokeswoman Sarah Russell told the Cyprus Mail yesterday that Unficyp was hoping to clear up the current dispute locally, without it affecting the Geneva talks.

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.