"Government stays cryptic on New York talks
By Elias Hazou
THE government was yesterday cryptic about the ongoing talks in New York, reiterating simply that they revolved around the procedures, as well as the substance, for a possible new initiative on Cyprus.
At around noon yesterday, Tasos Tzionis, the director of the President’s Diplomatic Office, met with UN Undersecretary for Political Affairs Kieran Prendergast. No announcements were made immediately after the meeting, fuelling speculation about what was discussed.
According to the government’s official line, Tzionis’ task was to set out the positions of the Greek Cypriot side with regard to what procedures could be followed if talks were to resume.
President Tassos Papadopoulos has repeatedly said that that there should be no conditions, restrictions or other predetermined issues during any new round of Cyprus talks. “No talks will start if there are not the prerequisites for success,” he said.
The exploratory talks in the US capital are the first official contacts with the UN in over a year; UN Secretary-general Kofi Annan indicated he would not sponsor a new initiative unless the Greek Cypriot side spelled out what changes it wanted to the peace blueprint rejected in last April’s referendum.
But during an impromptu meeting between President Tassos Papadopoulos and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan in Moscow earlier this month, the Secretary-general appeared to have relented, setting the stage for Tzionis’ mission to New York."
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