Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci will meet on November 7 to 11 at a location outside Cyprus to discuss the Cyprus issue. The goal is to create a blueprint that would later be put to a referendum for a peace deal that is likely to include territorial exchanges for the ethnically-split island.
Speaking at the Stelios Bicommunal Awards on Tuesday, Anastasiades said that a settlement should be a win-win situation for all Cypriots. He also said that the reunification talks have reached a critical state while urging for positive engagement. He said that an agreement should ensure mutual respect, peaceful co-existence and a prosperous collaboration for all citizens regardless of their ethnicity, culture or religion.
“As regards the current state of play in the negotiations, we have now reached a critical stage at which we expect all relevant interested parties and stakeholders to engage constructively and proceed with concrete and tangible steps, which will positively reinforce the negotiating process and our efforts of reaching a settlement as soon as possible,” said Anastasiades, who wants involvement by all members of the UN Security Council.
The meeting by both sides will take place on neutral territory. Anastasiades had told reporters on Monday that it would likely take place in Switzerland, while, in separate comments Akinci pointed to Geneva as the location of negotiations. The Financial Times reported on Tuesday that talks in a region in Switzerland are likely to place pressure on the Greek-Cypriot leader who will be urged to “make concessions over the return of the former agricultural district of Morphou, the unconditional return of which under Greek Cypriot administration has been deemed a ‘red line’.”
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