Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 10-01-08

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From: The Cyprus News Agency at <http://www.cyna.org.cy>

CONTENTS

[01] DOWNER - TALAT`S PROPOSALS

[02] PRESIDENT - UNSG - CONVERSATION

[03] PRESIDENT - DOWNER - PROPOSALS

[04] PARTY LEADERS - MEETING

[01] DOWNER - TALAT`S PROPOSALS

``I have had a very useful meeting and it is a regular meeting that we have from time to time. I try to catch up with the party leaders and it is an opportunity for us to talk about the Cyprus problem and the negotiations and we particularly focused on the negotiations that will be taking place next week and in an intensive phase. It has been very useful and I appreciate the meeting,`` he said, after a meeting with AKEL General Secretary Andros Kyprianou.

Asked if proposals put forward by Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat were a step forward, Downer said ``it is not for me to comment on these proposals.``

``I conveyed the proposals to Mr. Christofias yesterday and I obviously the Greek Cypriot side will have a good look at these proposals and they will be discussed during the course of next week,`` he added.

Kyprianou said he had a ``very useful`` exchange of views with Downer concerning the Cyprus problem, adding that the meeting was within the framework of regular meetings of the UN official with the political parties.

[02] PRESIDENT - UNSG - CONVERSATION

During the telephone conversation, Christofias and Ban exchanged wishes for the new year and President Christofias thanked the SG for his good offices mission in support of efforts to find a negotiated settlement in Cyprus. He also thanked Ban for placing the question of Cyprus among his priorities and for his attempts to help solve the problem.

The President of the Republic assured that he will continue to work and do everything possible to see efforts for a solution yield results. He outlined his views on various issues relating to the negotiations, he is engaged in with the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community, Mehmet Ali Talat, the press release said. President Christofias expressed hope that Turkey will respond to the challenges of the times and that the road towards a solution will open.

The SG congratulated the President on the agreement he reached with Talat to intensify the talks and wished that mutual good will prevail to have results from the process of intensive talks, which begin on Monday.

[03] PRESIDENT - DOWNER - PROPOSALS

In statements after a meeting with the President, Downer said that we are obviously very much focused on the intensive talks which are to begin on Monday and going on through the logistics on how those talks are going to work.

He said that the proposals he conveyed to President Christofias are going to be part of the discussions next week. We talked about it in general as well as in some specific terms on how we expect the discussions to go next week but also in the week of the 24th when the second of the two intensive periods is going to take place, he added.

Asked if the Turkish Cypriot proposals will bring the two sides closer to agreement, he said that the main thing is that the leaders have the opportunity to sit down and talk about these things at the beginning of next week and they can make up their own minds about that.

[04] PARTY LEADERS - MEETING

An official press release said that the meeting was convened by President Christofias and will take place at the Presidential Palace.

The proposals were conveyed today by the UN Secretary Generals Special Adviser on Cyprus Alexander Downer and concern the chapter of governance and power sharing.

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