Poor outlook for Cyprus talks
Cyprus dismissed yesterday as a «most negative document» a proposal by Turkish-Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash on the island’s reunification that was presented during the last meeting of the second round of talks on Monday. Cypriot government spokesman Michalis Papapetrou said Denktash’s proposal called for a solution based on the recognition of the occupied northern territories as a legal state entity, an idea that Nicosia has rejected outright. Cypriot President Glafcos Clerides is to provide Denktash with an official answer at the opening of the third round of face-to-face talks, on May 7. On Tuesday, Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis called on the Turkish Cypriots to «table proposals that can lead to a substantial discussion of the problem.» «Mr Clerides told me he sees no substantial progress on the matter,» he said.
