Greek, Turkish Cypriot Leaders Meet for Reunification Talks
Published:
20 February 2004 y., Friday
Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders met for two hours Thursday at the opening of talks seen as the best chance in 30 years to reunify their divided island, with both sides staking out tough positions a signal the discussions will likely be long and difficult.
Hours before the negotiations began, a small bomb exploded in front of the home of the prime minister of the self-declared Turkish Cypriot state, slightly wounding a neighbor.
There are fears in Cyprus that extremists could try to disrupt the U.N.-sponsored talks, which aim to reunite the Mediterranean island before it enters the European Union on May 1.
The discussions are being held under a tight deadline, and both sides have agreed to allow U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan to fill in the blanks of an agreement if they are not able to resolve certain issues.
That has raised hopes of a settlement, which would be put to a referendum on each side of the island on April 21.
U.N. envoy Alvaro de Soto said the two hours of talks between Turkish Cypriot Rauf Denktash and his Greek Cypriot counterpart, President Tassos Papadopoulos, were "very constructive."
But neither leader was willing to make such positive comments.
Šaltinis:
abcnews.go.com
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
September 6, literacy courses for local residents were formally opened in the UN Representation in Chaghcharan, capital of province of Ghowr.
more »
Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Vygaudas Ušackas and Italy’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Franco Frattini discussed perspectives of developing a bilateral dialogue, intensifying economic cooperation, etc.
more »
During the informal meeting of European Union’s foreign ministers on 4-5 September in Stockholm, Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Vygaudas Ušackas and his counterparts discussed the issues of Afghanistan, relations with Iran...
more »
On 3 September in Vilnius, Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs V. Ušackas met with Vice-President of the European Commission G. Verheugen, responsible for enterprise and industry, and discussed the most important issues of economy, energy and the implementation of the Treaty of Lisbon.
more »
On 22 July, the Government approved of the amendments to the Labour Code proposed by the Ministry of Social Security and Labour.
more »
Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs V. Ušackas discussed the problems of Lithuanian carriers while crossing the Russian border with Igor Levitin, Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation and co-chairman of the Lithuanian-Russian intergovernmental commission.
more »
Lithuania‘s Minister of Foreign Affairs welcomed the decision of the new NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen to include a joint representative of the Baltic States into a group of experts which is tasked to prepare a new Strategic Concept of NATO.
more »
On 3 August, Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Vygaudas Ušackas met with Serbia’s Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić, who was paying a visit to Lithuania.
more »
On 30 July, Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Vygaudas Ušackas bade farewell to outgoing Ambassador of Belgium to Lithuania Filip Cumps and thanked him for his input into fostering bilateral relations.
more »
On 29 July farewell ceremony with the departing Canadian Defence Attaché for Lithuania Jim Petryk was held in the Ministry of National Defence.
more »