Christofias says gaps can be bridged

THERE is potential to fill the gaps between the two sides in the current talks, President Demetris Christofias said yesterday after meeting Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat.

Christofias said yesterday’s meeting, where the leaders continued discussion on EU affairs, was “good without generating feelings of euphoria”.

“We still have both convergences and divergences on the table, that is why we are saying that we have to intensify our work,” he added.

Asked whether they will ask for the help of EU technocrats in case there are differences in the views of experts, he said the EU was interested but said it was up to the two sides to solve any problems.

UN Secretary General’s Special Representative in Cyprus Taye Brook Zerihoun said yesterday it was possible that the leaders would move on to economic matters after their discussions on the EU.

“For two hours they had discussions on EU matters on the basis of the work done by the experts last week and this week. The leaders have agreed to meet again next Tuesday morning to continue these discussions,” he said.

He also announced that before that there would be two back to back meetings of aides to the leaders; one today at 3pm and tomorrow at 4pm of the representatives and the experts.

“It’s been a good discussion. As you know the EU matters was one of the issues on which there has been quite a lot of convergence and on which there was a joint paper that came out through the working groups. So the discussion was thorough and substantive and it is an engaged process,” said Zeirhoun.

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