UN urges speed up of talks, Turkish Cypriot gov’t unsure of success

Hurriyet Daily News with wires

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

"While the parties have made steady progress, I see a need for an increase in the pace of the talks as the sides start to address issues more holistically," the report, dated May 15, said.

"Indeed, the parties themselves recognize that a settlement will be harder to reach as each day passes without a solution," he added.

Ban said the parties "acknowledge that the status quo is unacceptable and that the process cannot be open-ended."

Re-launched in September 2008 after a four-year hiatus, Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat and his Greek Cypriot counterpart, Demetris 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 Security Council is scheduled to discuss Cyprus on Friday. U.N. peacekeepers have been in Cyprus since the division of the island in 1964 when Turkish Cypriots were forced to withdraw into enclaves.

UBP GOV'T PESSIMISTIC ABOUT SUCCESS

The newly-elected right-wing government of Northern Cyprus said on Friday it was pessimistic that peace talks to unify the island would succeed.

"Let alone the broader issues, the Greek Cypriot side is creating problems even on smaller issues. I am not optimistic for a solution, though I want to be," Reuters quoted Turkish Cypriot Foreign Minister Huseyin Ozgurgun as telling a news conference in Ankara.

"As long as the peace talks are continuing we will not leave the table, but they cannot go on for ever," he said, adding "we need a schedule."

The return of Ozgurgun's National Unity Party, or UBP, to power in the April 18 polls has raised concerns over the future of the reunification negotiations in the divided island although pro-unity Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat remains the chief negotiator.

Following his election victory, the new Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Dervis Eroglu backed the continuation of the talks, but said reunification should be based on "two states" -- a framework at odds with the federal model now being discussed by the Turkish and Greek Cypriot leaders.

The statement earned Eroglu a warning from Ankara that the core principles of the negotiations, which aim at a bi-zonal federation, should not be changed.

Talat and Christofias have so far discussed the issues of management and power sharing, property, and the European Union, or EU, and are due to debate territory and security and guarantees after completing discussions on economy.

The Turkish Cypriot side aims to complete discussions by August and begin an intensive level of talks, including a give-and-take process, in September. They also hope to agree on a text to be voted in a referendum by the end of 2009 or early 2010.