NICOSIA (AFP) — Rival Cypriot leaders began talks on Thursday on how to share power in a future unified state, their first substantive negotiations in a bid to end the Mediterranean island’s 34-year division.
President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat discussed power-sharing and governance during what UN envoy Alexander Downer called “productive and fruitful talks.”
The four-hour meeting at Nicosia’s abandoned airport in the UN-patrolled buffer zone followed the launch last week of official negotiations seen as the best chance of peace for years despite entrenched differences.
“We began negotiations on the substance of governance and power-sharing. The talks have been productive and… fruitful,” Downer said, adding that the leaders would meet again on September 18.
“There are no particular timelines agreed, but the two leaders are doing what they can to push the process ahead at the appropriate speed. There’s a long way to go.”
Afterwards Christofias was reluctant to comment on how the meeting went. “This is not the time to say whether I’m pleased or not.”
AFP: Cyprus rivals begin key phase of peace talks
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