THE CYPRUS talks yesterday got off to a low-key start in terms of show, but some real work was done on the issue of governance during the four and a half hour meeting, according to those close to the process.
Unlike the inaugural meeting of the leaders on September 3 when President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat made separate statements that later caused bad feeling on the Greek Cypriot side, not even a joint statement was made yesterday.
In New York UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said later yesterday he was encouraged by the progress, and said he had already urged the leaders in Cyprus, Greece and Turkey to seize the moment when he spoke to them by phone in the past week.
“During calls to all the leaders I have encouraged them to seize this momentum and try to demonstrate their political leadership with a sense of flexibility and wisdom and to look beyond their regional issues to the future of the Cypriot people,” said Ban.
“While I believe the Cypriot people have the ownership of this (negotiating process), we are committed to continue to provide our facilitating role,” he added.
Although there is no UN-imposed blackout on the talks, the leaders themselves decided not to turn the process into a media circus and give fodder to the prophets of doom as they did last time.
Instead, UN special envoy Alexander Downer made a brief comment and then answered questions.
“The talks have been productive and the talks have been fruitful and they will continue the negotiations on the 18th September,” Downer said.
He said real negotiations had taken place on the issue of governance, which will be continued at the next meeting.
After that the thorny issue of property will be opened for negotiations, the UN envoy said.
Downer himself is due to leave for Australia tonight or tomorrow and may not attend the next meeting. He will hold a news conference in Nicosia later today.
“Both leaders are doing what they can to push the process ahead at an appropriate speed. It has been a good discussion today but obviously there is a long way to go. It’s the very beginning of the process,” he said yesterday.
“There will be a continuation of the discussion on governance and power sharing and the subject that had been stipulated before and they will be moving on to the property issue after that.”
Asked if he was happy with yesterday’s proceedings, which began at 10am, Downer said he thought things were going well.
“These are big issues. Discussing something like governance and power sharing for a constitution is a big question, so inevitably it will take a bit of time,” he said.
Downer said the meeting was as he imagined it would be.
Or in the words of another source: “It was as good a start as you could have hoped for.”
Talat came out smiling from the meeting but Christofias did not appear to be in the best of form, which the sources confirmed. But they said his mood had nothing to do with the process and did not affect the meeting.
Prior to the President and his team of aides leaving from the presidential palace yesterday morning, Christofias said he was going to the talks with self confidence.
“Our cause is a just cause. We will defend it and I hope and wish that the other side will show the same good will and understanding”, he said.
“All will be judged at the negotiating table. What is being said outside is important but it is of a secondary importance, given the fact that the real positions of the Turkish Cypriots and the Greek Cypriots are expressed there (at the negotiations).”
Later when he was asked if he was satisfied with the meeting with Talat he said: “This is not the time to say if I am satisfied or not.”
