Nicosia looks to push talks
Cyprus President Dimitris Christofias has said he is hoping for swifter progress when he resumes peace talks with Turkish-Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat tomorrow. «It would be wrong to say the outlook is gloomy. We have achieved some progress but not as much as I was expecting,» Agence France-Presse cited Christofias as saying. One small success highlighted by the Cypriot leader is an agreement that a settlement should be based on a bicommunal federation. «This does not mean participation on an equal basis in government bodies but effective participation so that one community can’t impose its will on the other,» he said. Christofias, due in Paris today to meet with his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy, said a settlement requires a new approach by Turkey. In Nicosia, government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou condemned as «illegal» a visit to the Turkish-occupied north of Cyprus by Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.