Need for further dialogue on all aspects of Cyprus problem

It appears there was a need for further dialogue on all matters relating to the Cyprus problem, President Nicos Anastasiades said on Monday, following a meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu.

Speaking at the presidential palace after the meeting, which lasted two hours and 45 minutes, Anastasiades said they reviewed “the progress or non progress, based on the positions tabled by the two sides.”

“It appears there is a need for further dialogue regarding all the matters relating to the Cyprus problem,” he said.

The Greek Cypriot side, Anastasiades said, pointed out the Turkish Cypriot side’s inconsistency with the joint communiqué agreed between the two sides on February 11.

“The other side expressed certain positions or views about the Turkish Cypriot concerns and what has been agreed is that this dialogue, at least regarding the sides’ initial positions, should be concluded at the earliest,” Anastasiades said.

He added that there would then be a second phase where the two sides will discuss in detail what has been submitted so far.

The United Nations said the two sides have agreed to continue the screening process and to conclude it as soon as possible in a bid to enter the next stage of the talks.

According to a statement read by Acting Special Adviser to UNSG on Cyprus Lisa Buttenheim, the leaders met “in a friendly atmosphere and reviewed the progress of the discussions undertaken thus far between the negotiators.”

“They agreed to continue the screening process and to conclude this phase as soon as possible with a view to entering into the next stage of the structured negotiations”, she added.

Anastasiades and Eroglu have agreed to “meet again in a month’s time or earlier if necessary.”

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.