The first day of trilateral Cyprus meeting ends in New York

NEW YORK (A.A) - October 31, 2011 - The first day of the trilateral Cyprus meeting among the United Nations (UN) secretary general and Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot leaders ended in New York on Sunday. After the first day of the trilateral meeting among UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, President Dervis Eroglu of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and Greek Cypriot leader Demetris Christofias, Ban's Special Adviser on Cyprus Alexander Downer told reporters that the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot leaders had held "positive, productive and vigorous" discussions during the first of two days of talks. Downer, said the UN was pleased with the way that the talks involving Eroglu and Christofias were progressing. These two days of talks represent the fourth time that Ban has met directly with the two leaders in a bid to strengthen the wider UN-backed process aimed at reunifying the Mediterranean island, and follow a meeting in New York in November last year and talks in Geneva in January and July this year. Downer said Ban met the two leaders for two hours Sunday to discuss four core issues: governance and power-sharing, especially regarding the presidency property territory and citizenship. Downer and B. Lynn Pascoe, the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, then held extensive discussions with the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot delegations that focused on the same core issues. "I think it is fair to say, and I am quoting the two sides here, rather than using my own words, but it certainly reflects the United Nations' own view, that these discussions have been positive, productive and vigorous -- appropriately vigorous and certainly positive and productive," Downer said. Downer stressed that it was not the role of the UN to arbitrate in the process or force the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots to reach convergences on core issues. "What we have been doing is talking to the two sides extensively about the positions they have as well as discussing the other side's positions so there is a full understanding of the positions. But at the end of the day the two sides, where they make convergences, have to make their own convergences," he said. The UN-backed process began in 2008 with the aim of eventually setting up a federal government with a single international personality in a bi-zonal, bi-communal country, with Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot constituent states of equal status.