CONVERGENCE OF VIEWS

Cyprus Mail
12 Nov 08

‘If we had the same positions right from the start, the problem would
have been solved before we began’

PRESIDENT Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali
Talat yesterday continued direct talks on the issue of the legislature.

The UN Secretary-general’s Special Adviser on Cyprus Alexander Downer
said the two leaders will meet again tomorrow morning and that so
far they were "making steady progress" on the issue of governance.

"This is an enormously important negotiation for the people of Cyprus
and inevitably it’s going to take time and inevitably the negotiations
are going to be difficult negotiations but they are making progress,"
he said.

Asked to define what he meant by progress, the UN Special Envoy said:
"There are points of convergence in the discussion, and as they reach
points of convergence they are able to move on and there are obviously
points of divergence as well and it’s the points of divergence that
constitute the debate."

Whether there was more convergence or divergence he would not say
although some points of divergence will be discussed by the leaders’
representatives – George Iacovou and Ozdil Nami – on Friday in relation
to the legislature.

"As you can imagine for any country governance and power sharing is an
enormously important issue. This is a central issue. So it is hardly
surprising that it takes a while and I think it is very important to
be understanding and tolerant with that frankly. An expectation that
you can just suddenly solve all of these problems overnight after so
many years is unrealistic," he said.

Discussions were held on the competencies of the federal government,
on the executive, the role of the executive and how the executive
was elected, he added.

Speaking to reporters following his seventh face-to-face meeting with
Talat, Christofias explained that in a difficult negotiating process
there is convergence of views but also differences.

"Consequently, it is no coincidence that we have authorised our aides
to meet again on Friday to discuss issues on which final convergence
can be reached," he said.

Asked about the outcome of yesterday’s meeting Christofias said
there had been convergence and divergence but like Downer refused
to elaborate.

"If we had the same positions right from the start, the problem would
have been solved before we began," he pointed out.

Christofias said: "There must be convergence on the philosophy of the
kind of state we want, on how unified, firm and functional this state
will be and this is a topic we shall be discussing until the end."

The president said the two leaders would not necessarily agree on
everything before moving on to another chapter.

"Once we conclude the discussions on all the aspects of the Cyprus
issue, then we shall go back to see what give and take we can achieve,
where and how," he said.

Meanwhile commenting on the negotiating process yesterday, UN
Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon said it was encouraging that negotiations
were much better than in the past.

"The negotiation process has been, I think, encouraging. Both leaders
have demonstrated very strong political will to resolve this long
standing – four decade -issue through dialogue and a mutually
acceptable formula. This is encouraging," he said.

House president Marios Garoyian had a different take on the issue.

According to him only after a change in the positions of the as yet
intransigent Turkish side could there be progress at the negotiations.

"Things are not encouraging, not because of the stance of the Greek
Cypriot side but because the Turkish side continues to follow an
intransigent and sterile stance," he said.

If this changed there would be "substantive developments in the Cyprus
issue", he said.

Garoyian was speaking to reporters at Larnaca airport before leaving
for an official visit to Armenia.