Brussels, 22/12/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 22 December, the president of the Republic of Cyprus, Demetris Christofias, and the leader of the Turkish-Cypriot community, Mehmet Ali Talat, acknowledged that negotiations on the reunification of the island were not progressing fast enough. In a joint declaration at the end of their 13th meeting since the relaunch of negotiations on 3 September last, the two leaders did, however, reaffirm their commitment to the peace process and restated their determination to reach an agreement in 2009. In the joint declaration published after their meeting in the buffer zone controlled by the UN in Nicosia, the two men, accompanied by UN Special Envoy, Alexander Downer, stated, “although progress has been made, it is insufficient”. They also stressed that, “we can assure you that we are determined to do all in our power to reach a settlement as soon as possible…2009 will bring peace and prosperity to Cyprus, our joint country”. Mr Downer, the UN representative said that he was encouraged by this “positive” text. The next meeting between the two leaders is planned for 5 January. An agreement on Cyprus will also speed up Turkey's EU accession negotiations because many chapters are currently blocked because of reasons related to the Cypriot problem (EUROPE 9808). (H.B./transl/rh)