Leaders take the talks home

IN WHAT appears to be an eleventh-hour attempt to make progress before Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat stands for re-election in April, the leaders have agreed to meet for two intensive three-day meetings at their respective homes in Kyrenia and Nicosia next month.
News of the planned meetings came yesterday in the wake of earlier news reports that after more than 50 meetings at the United Nations Protected Area (UNPA) in the buffer zone in Nicosia, Christofias and Talat had become “bored” with meeting in the same place week in, week out.
While giving few details of exactly how the three-day meetings would materialise, Talat confirmed yesterday that “more meaningful and productive talks” would begin from the beginning of January, and that this would include the three-day summits at his home and the home of President Demetris Christofias.
“We will meet from morning till night for three days at a time,” Talat said. He added however that Christofias would not be staying overnight in the north, and that he too would return to the north after meetings in the south in Christofias’ home.
There was no comment at all from the Greek Cypriot side on Talat’s revelation. Diplomatic sources however confirmed the two leaders had agreed and suggested there might be “some constraints’ on Christofias’ part.
According to reports the two leaders would meet at Christofias’ house first between January 11 and 13, followed by another three-day session at Talat’s place starting on January 18.
Speaking after his latest round of negotiations with Christofias yesterday, a cheerful and relaxed Talat said the intensive talks would make up for lost time and present an opportunity to put the final stages to a solution plan before Talat stands for re-election against hardliner UPP leader Dervish Eroglu, who most observers believe will not be willing to resolve the Cyprus problem within the parameters already agreed between Talat and Christofias.
“My personal view is that the Greek Cypriot side is not willing to fully engage in serious negotiations until they see what they can get from the EU summit this month,” Talat said yesterday. “Therefore, we have to look for other methods and take the appropriate steps [to keep things moving forward]”.
“We hope to get through the EU summit, and that at the end of it Turkey’s EU aspirations are still alive. This is extremely important,” Talat said.
A foreign diplomatic source yesterday told the Mail that UN-sponsored talks had gained “a new momentum” in recent weeks, and that January was expected to bring an intensification of the process in preparation for a conclusion before ‘presidential’ elections in the north in April. The source also said it was clear, despite the recent improvement in atmosphere at the talks, that the Greek Cypriot side was waiting to see what happened at the EU summit before making solid commitments in negotiations.
Speaking after his meeting with Talat yesterday, Christofias said the two leaders held a friendly and open discussion on the issue of governance, asylum, aliens, citizenship and immigration. Next Wednesday, the two leaders will discuss the economy, for which their respective aides will prepare the ground in a meeting today. 
Christofias said an open discussion “improves the climate, but this does not mean that there is a concrete outcome which we can announce”.
According to various press reports, the Turkish Cypriot side is ready to submit a comprehensive package of proposals on the governance and power sharing chapter. There is a suggestion that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will discuss the new package of proposals with US President Barrack Obama during his visit to the US next Monday.
Meanwhile, DISY leader Nicos Anastassiades described a meeting he had yesterday in the north with Eroglu as “very interesting”. 
“Both of us gave our vision for Cyprus and its future. I must admit there are differences but there was a good start, with the intention of having a better understanding of the other’s views in time,” said Anastassiades. Eroglu described the meeting as “meaningful and honest” and said his party would reciprocate in January.

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.