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Cyprus wants bigger EU role in peace talks: negotiator

18 May 2015, 14:52 CET
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(NICOSIA) - Cyprus wants the European Union to play a bigger role in peace talks with Turkish Cypriots aimed at reunifying the island, its chief negotiator said on Monday.

"We want an EU presence" in talks, Andreas Mavroyiannis told AFP in an interview, after UN-brokered negotiations restarted on Friday.

Mavroyiannis said his team was encouraged by the newly elected Turkish Cypriot leader, Mustafa Akinci, who was "far more receptive and positive towards the idea" of increased EU involvement.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkish troops occupied the island's northern third in response to an Athens-inspired coup seeking union with Greece.

The self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was unilaterally declared in 1983 in a move recognised only by Ankara.

Decades of talks have failed to reach a breakthrough but experts have described the latest round of negotiations as Cyprus's best chance in years at achieving lasting peace.

Mavroyiannis said there had been an "important change" in Turkish Cypriot willingness to accept greater EU involvement following Akinci's election in April.

He stressed however that the EU could not replace the UN in its role as mediator.

"Cyprus is a member of the European Union", he said, adding that Brussels had a stake in talks given that its laws are implemented on the island.

The negotiator said renewed dialogue between the Republic of Cyprus and Turkish Cypriots "has gone very well, with a very constructive spirit, but we all know that the task in front of us isn't easy".

Unlike his Turkish counterpart Ozdil Nami, who told AFP at the weekend that a peace deal could be wrapped up "within months", Mavroyiannis declined to put a timeframe on talks.

"We will do everything to move forward without underestimating the difficulties. If things were that easy, they would already be solved," he said, adding that he would meet "very frequently" with Nami in the coming weeks.

For Mavroyiannis, the solution to Cyprus's decades-long divide "can be found in Ankara," which provides Turkish Cypriots with one third of their annual budget.

"Today, one thing that is certain is that Turkey wants a process. How far is it willing to go? We shall see," he said.


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