Critical Week Begins in Cyprus

Turkish and Greek Cypriot delegations will convene today for the 15th session of peace talks under the supervision of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President, Rauf Denktas, and Greek Administrator, Tasos Papadopoulos. The parties will form a list of changes to the Annan plan and submit it to United Nations (UN) Special Envoy, Alvaro de Soto. Beginning today, de Soto will meet with each party individually regarding the list and will try to launch a ‘give and take’ process.

Englands Diplomatic Fumble apadopoulos met yesterday with Greek Prime Minister, Kostas Karamanlis, in Athens. Karamanlis said negotiations need to be concluded positively despite current difficulties, and added that Greece wholeheartedly supports Papadopoulos. The Greek Leader said the level of representatives for the four-party meeting has not yet been decided.

Meanwhile, England has reportedly conveyed the view that prospective agreements are not required for a vote in both the Turkish and Greek parliaments before the April 20 referenda. The Greek newspaper, Simerini, wrote yesterday that with this, England stumbled diplomatically on the Cyprus issue. The Greek administration believes that if the Turkish parliament does not approve the agreement, Turkish troops will not withdraw from the Island.