Brussels, 29/05/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 28 May, two new steps were made towards the reunification of Cyprus. Indeed, the Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders decided among other things to open new crossings on the green line and to link their electricity and telephone networks.
In a statement to the press, UN special envoy Espen Barth Eide said that the meeting between the Greek Cypriot leader, Nicos Anastasiades, and the Turkish Cypriot leader, Mustafa Akinci, had enabled them “to take the next steps towards fulfilling their joint vision for a united federal Cyprus”. He stated that the two leaders were going to work on opening new crossing points on the green line, starting with Lefka-Aplici (West) and Deryneia (East). Other proposed crossing points will be submitted to the committee on crossings for further examination. There are currently seven crossing points open between the two parts of the island.
Anastasiades and Akinci agreed to take further practical steps to interconnect the electricity grids. They also asked the technical committee about economic and trade issues, and they asked their respective experts to work on the issue of mobile telephone interoperability. Telephone calls between the two zones are currently either impossible (due to the networks being blocked), or expensive (because they are considered as international calls). Work will begin to prevent radio frequency interference. In addition, a committee on gender equality will be set up.
For the first time, Anastasiades and Akinci launched a joint call on “the crucial humanitarian issue of missing persons”. They asked those who have information on the fate of the persons who have been missing since the 1964 intercommunity clashes and the 1974 Turkish invasion to come forward.
“Going forward, the leaders agreed to explore a range of other possible confidence-building measures in parallel to the substantive negotiations”, said Eide.. The two leaders will meet again on 17 and 29 June and on 10 and 27 July.
By their next meeting, Eide will have met European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn in Brussels on 3 June. (Camille-Cerise Gessant)