The letters updates the UNSG on the Cyprus talks
Anastasiades letter received by Guterres
A letter by President Nicos Anastasiades on his views of the ongoing developments in the Cyprus peace talk negotiations is in the hands of UN Secretary General (UNSG) Antonio Guterres.
The letter has been handed over to Maria Luiza Viotti, the Chef de Cabinet to the UNSG, by Cyprus’ UN Ambassador in New York Kornelios Korneliou to relay to Guterres.
Last weekend, Anastasiades responded angrily to comments made by UN Special Envoy to Cyprus, Espen Barth Eide, over the developments.
Anastasiades had accused the Norwegian diplomat of being one-sided in his comments, of appearing to rush the negotiations and of not mentioning the threats by Turkey over the offshore drilling within the island’s waters. Eide also tied next year’s Presidential elections with the ongoing talks.
According to media sources, the letter is over three pages long and comprises of a short summary of what has been achieved in the talks so far but also outlines what he claims as being the Turkish Cypriot side’s withdrawal on a number of points after the ‘Conference On Cyprus’ in Geneva earlier this year.
The same sources claim that the letter does not fire a complaint against Eide.
The letter, which is accompanied by a dossier by Eide outlining the 103 issues the UN needs to implement in the event of a solution, also points to irrational demands that run counter to the prospects of a “viable bi-communal federation.”
Talks between Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci have still to make a significant breakthrough to end the dispute despite hopes from the UN and the international community that a settlement could finally be reached after the ‘Conference On Cyprus’ in Geneva earlier this year.
Anastasiades and Akinci have resumed negotiations following a frosty spell in relations between the two sides and will meet again on Thursday (May 11) and then on May 17. The chief negotiators from both sides met on Tuesday.
The talks were in danger of coming to a crashing halt following a series of incidents which angered each side since the start of the year.
These included a controversial bill to commemorate Enosis in schools, a move to block Greek Orthodox Church mass in the north during Easter to take place while Anastasiades’ government and Turkey are currently at loggerheads over gas exploration and drilling rights off Cyprus’ shores.
