Talat agrees to discuss July accord with President Papadopoulos

GOVERNMENT Spokesman Vassilis Palmas said yesterday that Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat has agreed to discuss ways to move forward a UN-brokered agreement, during his meeting with President Tassos Papadopoulos on September 5.

Palmas noted that in Talat’s reply letter to Papadopoulos’ invitation to meet “there is a proposal that concerns the July 8 agreement of last year, as well as other issues.”

He added that the Greek Cypriot side’s position was that the meeting should have a specific agenda “and this agenda is the July 8 agreement”.

Palmas said that until September 5, there will be no other meeting between the representatives of the leaders of the two communities Tasos Tzionis and Rashit Pertev, who have been holding regular meetings since the agreement was clinched.

Palmas pointed out that during the September 5 meeting, if both leaders wish to raise other issues, they will be able to do so.

This will be the first encounter between Papadopoulos and Talat since July last year.

President Papadopoulos and Talat agreed on 8 July 2006, during a meeting in Nicosia in the presence of UN official Ibrahim Gambari, to begin a process of bicommunal discussions on issues that affect the day-to-day life of the people and concurrently those that concern substantive issues, both contributing to a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem.

So far no progress has been made towards setting up the working groups and the technical committees, as provided for in the agreement, in a bid to help move forward. Next week’s meeting is aimed at making headway towards this direction.
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