Statement delivered by Special Adviser of the SG on
Cyprus
on behalf of the Greek Cypriot leader and the Turkish Cypriot leader
Today, the Greek Cypriot leader, Mr. Nicos Anastasiades, and the
Turkish Cypriot leader, Mr. Mustafa Akıncı, took the next steps towards
fulfilling their joint vision for a united federal Cyprus. Their constructive
dialogue included a range of core issues that go to the very heart of the Cyprus
question.
Mr. Akıncı and Mr. Anastasiades underlined once again their shared
will and determination to reach a comprehensive settlement. The two leaders
believe that outcomes at the negotiating table should reflect the positive
atmosphere prevailing on the island.
In this leader-led process, Mr. Anastasiades and Mr. Akıncı agreed
that their next meetings will take place on Wednesday, 17 June, Monday, 29 June,
Friday, 10 July and Monday, 27 July.
In support of the leaders’ mutual commitment, the negotiating teams
met five times over the past two weeks. They worked tirelessly on all aspects of
the Cyprus issue in order to reach a comprehensive understanding of where the
two sides currently stand. In various areas, progress
was achieved. They presented the outcome of their work so far to the leaders,
who provided further guidance and requested their negotiators to continue their
joint work.
The leaders agreed to make a strong appeal on the crucial
humanitarian issue of missing persons.
Furthermore, as a sign of their mutual commitment, the leaders agreed
to the following five concrete steps.
ONE: To work towards the opening of more crossing points, starting
with Lefka-Aplici and Deryneia. In addition, they referred a number of other
proposed crossing points for further examination to the committee on
crossings.
TWO: They agreed to interconnect electricity grids, and to start
taking the practical steps towards this goal.
THREE: In the same vein, the leaders agreed on the desirability of
mobile telephone interoperability. The two leaders want this issue to be
solved. The leaders will therefore instruct the technical committee on economic
and commercial matters, as well as their respective experts, to discuss and
propose how this important issue can be solved.
FOUR: In parallel, work will commence to prevent radio frequency
interferences.
FIVE: Last, but not least, the leaders agreed that the Cyprus issue
can only be properly solved with due understanding of the perspectives of both
women and men. To that effect, they agreed to establish a committee on gender
equality.
The leaders also used the opportunity to exchange the names of the
members of the culture committee that had been agreed in the last leaders’
meeting.
Going forward, the leaders agreed to explore a range of other
possible confidence-building measures in parallel to the substantive
negotiations.
This concludes the report of the leaders’ meeting. I have now been
asked by the leaders to present to you their joint appeal on the crucial humanitarian issue of missing
persons.
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Best regards,
