By Jean Christou
NEGOTIATORS from both sides met on Tuesday for their first meeting on substantive issues, which were property and the federal executive.
Greek Cypriot negotiator Andreas Mavroyiannis and his Turkish Cypriot counterpart Kudret Ozersay met under UN auspices for five hours. No statements were made.
The pair had met on Monday to iron out procedures so they could save time during Tuesday’s lengthy session for more substantive work.
According to a UN statement “they entered into substantive negotiations on federal public service, federal competences and property”. They agreed to continue the negotiations on these and other issues at their next meeting on Tuesday, May 13.
In the meantime, a meeting of the property experts of the two sides will take place on Friday this week. The UN said it would also meet bilaterally with the two negotiators to prepare for their next joint meeting.
The meeting came a day after the visit to the island by UN Undersecretary for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman, whose presence on the island at the start of what is being deemed the second phase of negotiations, is seen as significant.
“The fact that Feltman carried out his visit to Cyprus earlier than originally planned, and that his visit coincided with the beginning of the substantive talks is an indicator of his personal engagement with the process,” Ozersay was quoted as saying Tuesday.
He said it would be beneficial if Feltman visited more often. “That would contribute to sustaining the momentum we achieved,” he said.
“It is very important that a top UN official is engaged with the process. Of course the main principles are on the table. As it was stated in the joint declaration it is the Turkish Cypriots and the Greek Cypriots who will negotiate this but the UN’s interest will definitely motivate both sides in reaching a settlement”.
Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu said if both sides came to the meetings prepared, it would be possible to conclude discussions on the chapter currently on the table.
“We mentioned our proposal to the UN Undersecretary Jeffrey Feltman in which we propose that with regard to each chapter, the negotiators reach a consensus to be approved by the leaders. We are now expecting Mr Mavroyiannis to convey our proposal to Mr Anastasiades,” said Eroglu.
Eroglu said Feltman shared the same belief that the negotiations could be completed and a settlement reached within a year.
