The leaders of the two parts of Cyprus have plans to meet and discuss the future of negotiations for the divided island. Mehmet Ali Talat, president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and Greek Cypriot leader Demetris Christofias are to meet on July 25 2008, according to news reports.
Turkey the only country that recognizes the TRNC, which is located on the northern part of the island, and has a military presence there, a legacy of the Turkish invasion in 1974. The United Nations and European Union have held that the Republic of Cyprus, which currently has control of the southern part of the island, is sovereign over the whole island.
The Greek daily Kathimerini reported that Greek foreign minister Dora Bakoyannis had called on Turkey to help end the “status quo” on Cyprus. She made the call as events were held in Greece and on the island to mark the 34th anniversary of the Turkish invasion.
“There must be an end to this unacceptable situation and a fair and viable solution must be found, respecting Security Council resolutions and European principles,” Bakoyannis said in a statement. She continued, “The efforts made in this direction by President Christofias and the Cypriot leadership have the unflinching support of Greece.”
Rival leaders in Cyprus met in Nicosia on July 1 to lay the groundwork for historic negotiations to reunify the divided island. After four-and-a-half hours of talks, Talat and Christofias agreed, in principle, that any settlement should involve a single state with common citizenship for all Cypriots. Full-fledged negotiations are expected to get under way in September.
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