Brussels, 25/03/2008 (Agence Europe) - The Slovenian EU Council Presidency and European Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn have welcomed the decision by Greek and Turkish Cypriots to reactivate talks on the future of Cyprus. During their meeting on Friday 21 March, the Cypriot president, Demetris Christofias, and the leader of the Turkish community in northern Cyprus, Mehmet Ali Talat, decided to initiate full-fledged negotiations under the auspices of the secretary general of the United Nations three months from now. By then, working groups and technical committees that are to be established in coming weeks will meet to examine a whole series of issues still to be defined. An agreement signed on 8 July 2006 (EUROPE 9229) already provided for a new discussion process to be activated with the creation of technical committees whose agendas cover everyday as well as more substantive issues. The agreement has never been really implemented, however, due to the lack of agreement between the parties on the questions to be covered.
“The announced re-opening of the Ledra Street crossing in Nicosia has sparked new hope for reunification of an island divided now for decades. It is an important symbolic step of political significance, and Slovenia encourages both sides to continue down the road of dialogue”, said Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, in a press release published on Friday. The question of opening up other crossing points, mainly the Limnitis crossing, will also be on the agenda of the working groups, whose content is still to be defined. “We want to underline what we agree upon and not anything we disagree upon”, Mr Christofias stressed after the meeting. He had recently ruled out the possibility of the Annan Plan serving as a basis for a future solution (EUROPE 9624). At this stage, “we just discussed the procedure for the time being … We didn't mention any basis, any parameter regarding the solution”, confirmed Mr Talat. He said he hopes to resolve the Cypriot problem by “the end of 2008”, or “as soon as possible”. (A.B.)