Talks focus on property

PRESIDENT Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci kicked off the intensified round of reunifications talks on Monday delving into the thorny issue of property.

The meeting started at six and lasted for two hours. The talks were followed by a working dinner in the presence of UN Special Adviser Espen Barth Eide, the Cyprus News Agency said.

Their next meeting is scheduled for Thursday.

They will also meet on November 18, 20, 23 and 25. In the meantime, their negotiators and their teams will continue to meet on an almost daily basis.

Talks on Monday reportedly centred on property where the two sides have substantial disagreements.

Turkish Cypriots want to have the majority of property ownership and population in their area despite this being against EU rules.

Anastasiades has made it clear that although each community would have separate administrations this did not imply guaranteed majorities of population or properties in each region.

It has been decided that no statements will be published at the end of each meeting.

Instead, the intensified phase will be seen as sessions of a continuous meeting, in which assessments of achievements made or obstacles remaining will only be made towards the end.

 

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.