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May 26, 2012
 
 
 
 
 
 

Meeting of Cypriot leaders ends

23 July 2009 / THE ANATOLIA NEWS AGENCY, LEFKOŞA
A meeting between the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Mehmet Ali Talat and leader of the Greek Cypriot administration Demetris Christofias has ended on Thursday.

The meeting took place as part of Cyprus negotiations to find a solution in the island.

Taye Brook Zerihoun, UN Secretary General's special representative to Cyprus, said that the meeting of the two leaders lasted around two hours.

Issues such as "Migration", "Citizenship" and "Right of Asylum" were discussed on Thursday, Zerihoun said.

The next meeting between Talat and Christofias is scheduled to take place on July 30.

Turkish Cypriots aim to complete negotiations by the end of this year and hold a referendum at the beginning of 2010.

   

-CYPRUS ISSUE-

Cyprus joined the EU as a divided island when Greek Cypriots in the South rejected the UN reunification plan in twin referendums in 2004 even though the Turkish Cypriots in the north overwhelmingly supported it.

The promise made by EU foreign ministers before the referendums to end the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots and establish direct trade with North Cyprus remains unfulfilled.

Gaining independence from the UK in 1960, Cyprus became a bi-communal Republic where Greek and Turkish Cypriot constituent communities would share power guaranteed by the UK, Turkey and Greece. However, reluctant to share power and pursuing a policy of Enosis (Union) with Greece, Greek Cypriots soon expelled Turkish Cypriots from power and terrorised and ghettoised them.

Decades long armed attacks on the defenseless Turkish Cypriots culminated in 1974 when an Athens-backed Greek Cypriot military coup on the island led to Turkey's military intervention. Although the Republic of Cyprus as described in the 1959 agreements is no longer there, Greek Cypriots continue to enjoy this title and international recognition while the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, a fully democratic government representing Turkish Cypriots, still suffers under an unfair political and economic blockade.

 
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