Cyprus talks to continue at home

GENEVA — The first ever international meeting to reunify Cyprus ended after only a day of talks, with an agreement to set up a working group and continue discussing the toughest issues later this month.

Following a meeting at the United Nations on Thursday with the three countries charged with ensuring Cyprus’ independence and security — Greece, Turkey and the U.K. — the Turkish and Greek Cypriot leaders agreed to return home to focus on the last outstanding issues in the peace deal, the U.N. announced early Friday.

Next, they will establish a working group of deputies tasked with identifying the specific questions around a new framework to ensure the reunified country’s security, and instruments needed to address them. They will begin discussions January 18.

At the same time, the Turkish and Greek Cypriot sides will continue to negotiate remaining sticking points such as whether the new federal government’s presidency would rotate between the two sides and where to draw the boundary between their two constituent states.

“The conference will continue at [the] political level immediately thereafter to review the outcome of the working group’s discussions,” the U.N. said.

Mustafa Akıncı, president of the self-declared Turkish Cypriot state, and Nicos Anastasiades, the Greek Cypriot leader and the country’s internationally recognized president, met in Geneva between Monday and Wednesday to discuss the outstanding issues.

In another significant step, the two sides exchanged maps on Wednesday evening of their proposals for a boundary between the Turkish Cypriot state in the north and Greek Cypriot side in the south.

It’s a particularly sensitive issue that will require Turkish Cypriots to give up some of their side to reflect their smaller population and economy and return significant sites to the Greeks. They are still negotiating over around 1 percent of the land.

Foreign ministers from Greece, Turkey and Britain, U.N. Secretary General António Guterres and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and the EU’s top diplomat, Federica Mogherini, joined the leaders on Thursday morning.

The question of how to replace the Greek, Turkish and British guarantee powers is also contentious and includes resolving the future of the 30,000 or so Turkish troops stationed in northern Cyprus.

Greek Cypriots want to do away with the security and guarantees system they see as outdated and don’t want Turkish troops on their land.

“We believe, especially on this important and very difficult chapter of security and guarantees, that the European Union can provide a solution for the benefit of all Cypriots,” Nikos Christodoulides, the Anastasiades government’s spokesman, told reporters Thursday afternoon.

Pointing to articles in the EU convention, he added, “the European Union is responsible for the security of its member states, it’s responsible for the European people.”

Turkish Cypriots, however, are nervous about severing ties with the only country that recognizes their government since Cyprus was divided.

The discussions on Thursday “underscored” the intentions on all sides to find a mutually acceptable deal on security and guarantees, the U.N. said.

“They recognized that the security of one community cannot come at the expense of the security of the other. They also acknowledged the need to address the traditional security concerns of the two communities while at the same time developing a security vision for a future united federal Cyprus,” it said.

Cyprus has been divided by a U.N.-enforced buffer zone since Turkey invaded the country in 1974. Akıncı and Anastasiades have been negotiating a reunification deal for the last 20 months, and aim to come to an agreement, draw up a new constitution and hold simultaneous referendums on both sides in the first half of this year.

While the Geneva conference ended sooner than many expected — following suggestions that it could continue through the weekend — the U.N. stressed the participants recognized it’s time to come to a “successful conclusion.”

“This is a historic opportunity that should not be missed.”