Government confirms Christofias will go to Kyrenia to visit Talat

PRESIDENT Demetris Christofias will visit Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat at his residence in Kyrenia, the government confirmed yesterday.

Christofias has been invited to the wedding of Talat’s daughter, and although he will not be attending the event today, he plans to cross to the north soon to give his congratulations.

Government Spokesman Stefanos Stefanou said the date of the visit had not yet been arranged but it would not be happening in the next few days due to the president’s heavy schedule, he said.

“Once it is fixed, it will be announced,” said Stefanou. He did say, however, that the visit would take place before the start of new negotiations between the two leaders on September 3.

Asked whether the reason Christofias would not be attending the wedding reception itself was because it was being held at a hotel owned by a Greek Cypriot refugee, Stefanou refused to be drawn.

“When you’re the President of the Republic you weigh up all the factors,” he said. “Beyond that I do not want to speculate.”

Christofias has crossed to the north in the past as leader of AKEL, but this would be the first crossing of a serving Cypriot President since Glafcos Clerides went for dinner with former Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash in 2001.

Talat has crossed over south several times since the crossing points opened in April 2003.

In February 2007, he visited Clerides at the American Heart Institute, and in April this year he visited First Lady Elsie Christofia.

Immediately after the Ledra Street crossing opened in April this year, he also crossed for a walkabout, and he crossed once more a few days later to have dinner at DISY leader Nicos Anastassiades’ home in Limassol.

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.