Turkish Cypriot Fm Seeks To Repair Peace Talks İmpasse

Turkish Cypriot Foreign Minister Ozdil Nami has described the recent deadlock in the Cyprus peace negotiations as "unacceptable" and call for a move towards a comprehensive solution for the divided island.



Nami comments on Friday came after a day of tension and high emotion during peace talks between the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus President Dervis Eroglu and Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades at the divided island's UN Buffer Zone.



Nami said:  "It is obvious that there is a key problem on the negotiation table where the sides could not agree on the previous positive developments, the methodology to follow at the next phase nor taking any trust-building measures."



He spoke hours after the Greek Cypriot leader became angry when the Turkish negotiating team insisted that recent progress made during the talks between the former leaders of the both sides of the island - Mehmet Ali Talat, Dervis Eroglu and Demetris Christofias - should be taken into account and respected under of the current negotiations.



'No results'



Anastasiades threw his glasses on the negotiating table and stormed out of the room after which Lisa Buttenheim - the Acting Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General on Cyprus who hosted the talks - adjourned the meeting for an hour and tried to calm the situation.



Turkish Cypriot top diplomat said the six months of negotiations had yielded no concrete results despite the expectations of the peoples of the island.



Despite Thursday's tensions, Buttenheim said:  "The leaders exchanged views on confidence building measures and on methodology."



"They have instructed their negotiators to continue discussions with the view to reaching an agreement on these issues."



Inconclusive talks



She said the next leader's meeting is due on September 2, 2014.



The island of Cyprus has remained divided into Greek and Turkish sides since a Greek Cypriot coup was followed by a Turkish peace mission to aid Turkish Cypriots in the north in 1974.



Negotiations over Cyprus resumed after a 2004 deal put forward by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to reunify the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot communities.



The plan was defeated by a no vote in a referendum in the Greek portion of the island whereas Turkish Cypriots voted in favor of the Annan plan.



Intermittent talks have since been inconclusive.



Solution debated



The stalled negotiations were resuscitated in February with a joint declaration announced by the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot leaders, outlining the contours of a federal state reuniting the island.



The "solution" is expected to address issues such as a constitutional framework for the island, territorial adjustments, return of property or compensation payments to pre-1974 owners, the return of displaced people and possible repatriation of Turkish Cypriot settlers.



The Greek Cypriot administration is a member of the European Union and is internationally recognized, except by Turkey, which is the only country that recognizes the TRNC.



http: //www.aa.com.tr/en - Lefkoşa