Special meetings with Anastasiades and Akinci in order to determine next steps for the negotiations
Eide meets with Anastasiades, will next meet Akinci
UN Special Envoy to Cyprus, Espen Barth Eide, held a meeting with President Nicos Anastasiades and is set to next sit down with Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci at 4.30pm on Thursday.
UNFICYP spokesperson Aleem Siddique had previously confirmed the separate meetings between Eide and the two leaders to reassess the current discussions and to agree on the next steps in the discussions.
Eide did not reveal what was discussed with Anastasiades following his discussion with the Cypriot president which ended at around midday.
The two Cyprus leaders were engaged in a lengthy meeting on Wednesday.
Both Anastasiades and Akinci are said to be not opposed to a new ‘Conference On Cyprus’ in Geneva but have set out different terms in order for it to come about.
According to reports, Anastasiades is seeking to head to Geneva again provided that the Turkish side agrees to first of all, discuss (with maps) the issue of territories and to reach an agreement and, secondly, to address the sensitive issue of security and guarantees once the matter of territories is agreed.
Anastasiades also maintains the position that the Turkish demands – which have to do mainly with the rotating presidency and the four freedom of the EU for Turkish nationals on the island – should be tabled and discussed once the issues of territories and securities are sorted out.
Speaking to reporters after his lengthy five-hour meeting with Akinci on Wednesday, Anastasiades said that the Greek Cypriot proposal “created the prospects of a Cyprus settlement.”
For his part, Akinci set out three preconditions for the Turkish Cypriot side.
First, that a date be set for the second conference in Geneva in June; secondly, that all the chapters be discussed as one package and third, that the seismic drilling plans within Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) for offshore gas be postponed.
