Turkish and Greek Cypriot leaders engaged in crossing dispute

Hurriyet Daily News with wires

Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat and his Greek Cypriot counterpart Demetris Christofias met for a 29th time since last September as part of efforts to find a comprehensive solution to the Cyprus problem.

Talat told reporters after the meeting that Christofias and he debated Yesilirmak, Limnitis in Greek, border crossing, but that some problems remained and they were unable to settle the issue.

"We wanted free passages to Erenkoy, but the Greek Cypriot administration considers limiting free passage," he was quoted by the Anatolian Agency as saying.

Christofias, however, accused Talat of placing unacceptable demands and preconditions on the Greek Cypriot side, such as allowing fuel to pass through its territory to a Turkish military outpost.

"I must say I return disappointed," AFP quoted Christofias as telling told reporters after the talks.

"Mr Talat insists on his terms of allowing fuel to pass through, but each time imposes new conditions, which, certainly cannot be accepted," he said.

He said the whole issue had been "blown up in the air" and stressed that both the Greek and Turkish Cypriots back the opening of a crossing in the area.

"I don’t think the Turkish army wants to open Limnitis. I expected different behavior from Talat. It seems it’s not dependent on him," Christofias said.

Christofias and Talat pledged last year to open the Limnitis crossing as a much needed confidence measure to bolster unification talks.

There are six crossings bridging the divide to help facilitate the movement of people and goods and the United Nations is encouraging the opening of more crossings to help break down the barriers of mistrust between the two communities.

LITTLE PROGRESS

Re-launched in September 2008 after a four-year hiatus, Talat and Christofias have been involved in reunification talks aimed at reaching an agreement to end the island's decades-long division. But little progress has been made so far.

The talks mark the first major push for peace since the failure of a U.N. reunification plan in 2004, which was approved by Turkish Cypriots but overwhelmingly rejected by Greek Cypriots.

The Cyprusisland of has been divided since 1964 when Turkish Cypriots were forced to withdraw into enclaves.

In a report Wednesday to the Security Council on the Cyprus peacekeeping mandate, U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon said he was "disappointed" over the lack of political will to push ahead with confidence building measures.

"Other confidence-building measures, such as the creation of crossings, including Limnitis, would greatly contribute to an improvement in the atmosphere on the island," said Ban.

"I call upon the parties to implement these measures without further delay."

The U.N. leader also urged Christofias and Talat to show a spirit of compromise and "increase... the pace of the talks."