Cypriot leaders to meet this month in effort for progress

‘Misunderstandings’ need to be ironed out, President Christofias says

Slovenia’s Prime Minister Janez Jansa, whose country currently holds the EU’s six-month rotating presidency, welcomes Cyprus’s President Dimitris Christofias (left) prior to a European Summit at the headquarters of the European Council, yesterday in Brussels.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The leaders of the Greek and Turkish communities in Cyprus will meet this month and in July to assess whether direct peace talks can start soon, Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias said yesterday.

“We want to pass to this phase of our common efforts but we must not work for the sake only of these face-to-face negotiations. We have to prepare ourselves... because if we fail this is a very, very serious failure,” Christofias said. He was speaking at a think-tank discussion on the Cyprus reunification process in Brussels, before a summit of EU leaders.

Christofias and Turkish-Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat have agreed to relaunch talks to end a decades-old conflict dividing the island and complicating Turkey’s prospect of joining the EU. Early expectations that the peace talks could start in June have dissipated as differences emerged in preparatory talks.

Nominally, both sides support reunification as a bizonal, bicommunal federation but there are deep-rooted disagreements on how it will work in practice.

Christofias said there had been some “misunderstandings and contradictions” which needed to be clarified with the Turkish-Cypriot leader. “It is really time to solve the problem. The continuation of the status quo is harming all Cypriots,” Christofias said.

Christofias said Turkey still wanted a solution that would include a separate state in northern Cyprus. “Unfortunately, we are dependent on the will of Turkey. If we are free to negotiate, I could be optimistic that soon we could solve the problem.” Christofias said a halving by Turkey of its military presence in Cyprus – which he said numbered 43,000 troops – would be a signal of good will.

He also said he was concerned that attempts by a Turkish state prosecutor to outlaw Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party for alleged Islamist activities could hurt the Cyprus peace process. “This will be a very important step backward for the people of Turkey and the accession process,” Christofias added. “We want the military to return to their camps.”

NICOSIA (AFP) – A huge blaze that had threatened to engulf half a dozen Greek-Cypriot villages in the scenic foothills of the Troodos mountains has been brought under control with foreign assistance, emergency services said yesterday. “Up to this moment everything is progressing normally and we hope that during the course of the day the small pockets of fire will be extinguished,” Cyprus police chief Iacovos Papacostas said.

Around 150 people were evacuated from six villages in Limassol district in the south of the Mediterranean island on Wednesday as a huge fire blazed out of control threatening homes and property.

Aircraft were still dousing the affected area yesterday for fear that the wind might pick up again and rekindle the fire. Some 300 firefighters and 53 vehicles remained on the ground to avoid any resurgence of the blaze.

The authorities have yet to complete a full damage assessment but at least three houses were destroyed by the fire in Ora village in neighboring Larnaca district.

A total of 13 firefighters received treatment for burns or the effects of smoke inhalation.

The fire brigade estimates that an area of 14 square kilometers (5.6 square miles) has been scorched by the blaze, which was eventually brought under control with the assistance of British and Greek aircraft.