The President of the
Republic and leader of the Greek Cypriot community Mr Nicos Anastasiades met
today at 6.30pm with the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community Mr Dervis
Eroglu.
Present at the meeting,
which was held at Chateau Status restaurant in Nicosia and lasted for three
hours, were the Greek Cypriot interlocutor Mr Andreas Mavroyiannis, the
Director of the Diplomatic Office of the President Mr Nicos Christodoulides and
an officer from the Interlocutor’s Office.
After the meeting,
President Anastasiades told the press that “I undertook this initiative for
today’s informal meeting with Mr Eroglu with the aim to ascertain whether we
can conclude a joint declaration that will pave the way for a solution to the
Cyprus problem.
It was a useful meeting
that allowed the two sides to understand clearly both the positions of each
other and the reasons that prevent the conclusion of the joint declaration.
Unfortunately, there is
still a long way to go until we reach the desired outcome, a goal that will
allow the resumption of a substantive dialogue between the leaders of the two
communities and that will create well-grounded prospects for a successful
conclusion.
Our intention is to
continue the consultations between the interlocutors of the two communities
with the ultimate goal being the conclusion of a joint communique in order to
have a resumption of the talks.”
Asked whether we are
closer to reaching the conclusion of a joint communique after the meeting
tonight, the President replied “I do not wish to make any comment.” The
President gave the same response when asked about the proposal by Mr Eroglu for
the two of them to visit the Monastery of Apostolos Andreas, which is in the
occupied areas.
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