British High Commissioner to Cyprus Irfan Siddiq expressed Friday the view that with creativity and good will there can be a way back to the negotiation table for the Cyprus issue.
The British diplomat, who held a meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, noted that the two sides have different positions, but said he was encouraged by the discussion he held.
He said that with Tatar they discussed a range of issues “but particularly after the elections in the Greek Cypriot community, the election of the new President of the Republic of Cyprus, to explore possibilities for the resumption of negotiations on a settlement.”
“I understand that the positions of the two sides are quite different and probably needs quite a lot of work done to bridge some of those gaps but I was encouraged by the discussion today that there are possibilities to do that” he added.
Concluding, he said that “I think with creativity and with good will we can find the way back to the negotiation table in a way that works for both sides.”
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
Source: Cyprus News Agency