THE GOVERNMENT said yesterday it agreed with the UN assessment of June as a target date and not a deadline for the Cyprus talks, but still wished to see the negotiations intensified in the weeks ahead.
Spokesman Michalis Papapetrou told journalists yesterday that the Greek and Turkish Cypriot sides must engage in “a practical discussion of the core issues” and stressed that there was a lot of work to do to achieve progress.
The spokesman was critical of Turkey’s attempts to inform European countries about the positions of the Turkish Cypriot side at the talks, saying this was not the appropriate thing to do at a time when there was a blackout imposed by the UN.
“We have said in the past that June is not a deadline, it is a target date and if the direct talks extend to July, there will be no guillotine hanging over us,” Papapetrou said after yesterday’s cabinet meeting.
Papapetrou was commenting on statements by UN envoy Alvaro de Soto that the June target date was not a deadline but a desirable goal.
De Soto, who on Wednesday concluded 22 meetings with President Glafcos Clerides and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, also said on his way for consultations in Ankara, Athens and New York that he wanted to see “an intensification of the negotiations.”
Commenting on the possibility of proposals being submitted to the two sides, Papapetrou said, “both sides have to agree on the submission of proposals and so far we have not been asked for our consent to such a move.”
Invited to comment on Denktash’s assessment that there was no deadlock in the talks, Papapetrou replied: “strictly speaking he may be right because the talks are continuing.”
“However, time is moving on and this imposes restrictions. There is a lot of work to be done and this is why we have to find ways to break the deadlock,” he said.
Direct talks are due to resume on 9 April, after De Soto returns from New York with a renewed mandate as to how to proceed.
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.
