Archbishop: talks going through a difficult phase

The talks between the leaders of the two communities in Cyprus are not deadlocked, but are going through a difficult phase, Archbishop Chrysostomos said on Sunday.

Chrysostomos expressed the view that from now on the talks would proceed at a snail’s pace as the leaders are discussing the more thorny issues. It will be very difficult, he said to get to the end of the negotiations to reach a settlement if Turkey does not retreat from its intransigent positions.

The Turks, the Archbishop added, must understand that the Cyprus problem will have to be solved in a way that will serve both communities and not just one side.
“If this is not understood by Ankara, or by the Turkish-occupied areas I do not think we will reach a solution,” he said.

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.