Anastasiades and Akinci are meeting again in an uneasy context
Cyprus leaders set to resume uneasy talks
President Nicos Anastasiades will resume Cyprus peace talks with Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci later on Thursday following a bumpy last couple of weeks with regards to relations between the two sides.
Both leaders are set to meet at 6.30pm at the old Nicosia airport with the items on the agenda expected to be EU matters, governance and economy.
Media reports claim that the four freedoms demand of Turkey for Turkish nationals on the island may also be tabled during the talks – something that the Greek Cypriots and the EU had previously stated would not be accepted.
Chief negotiators Andreas Mavroyiannis and Ozdil Nami met on Wednesday night while Mavroyiannis and his team had earlier met with Attorney General Costas Clerides at the Presidential Palace to discuss the four freedoms demand of Turkey.
According to media sources, the sentiment from the Attorney General’s Office is that Turkey’s demand cannot stand purely for legal reasons.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres are also set to meet on Thursday during which the two men will also discuss the ongoing peace talks in Cyprus.
Both leaderships have drawn criticism of late with the Turkish Cypriot coalition slammed for banning a Greek Cypriot church service in Famagusta to take place during Easter while the Republic of Cyprus government came under fire after accusations that they turned back delegations of school children from different countries that had arrived at Larnaca airport to attend a dance festival in the north.
Earlier this month, the two sides decided to reconvene at the negotiating table since the ignominious end to the previous talks in which Akinci walked out of the negotiations in the fall-out of the Enosis Day bill controversy.
Although a parliamentary amendment later eased tensions, the two sides are still uneasy over the on-going gas explorations with the Republic of Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
The signing of more exploration contracts with major energy players Exxon Mobil, Total, Eni and Qatar Petrolium only prompted to Turkey to escalate its threats in the region and dispatch its own exploration vessel within the disputed waters off Paphos.
The Turkish threats could also be discussed during Thursday’s meeting between Anastasiades and Akinci.
