De Soto arrives in Cyprus after 11 months

NICOSIA (AA) – De Soto who will participate in the negotiations in the name of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, will separately meet with TRNC President Rauf Denktas and Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos on Wednesday.

After De Soto’s meeting with the leaders, the hour of the first meeting to be held on Thursday and the issue of how many days a week the meetings to be held will be determined. De Soto is accompanied by UN working group.

De Soto left the island on March 8, 2003 as no result was taken from the Cyprus talks carried out on the island and as UN Secretary General had invited the leaders to The Hague for a meeting.

DE SOTO: I AM OPTIMISTIC

Addressing journalists at Larnaka airport, De Soto said that he is optimistic about reaching a solution in Cyprus dispute.