Statements by Eroglu after meeting with President Christofias and before departing for TurkeyTurkish Cypriot daily Kibris (13.05.11) reports that the Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu has said that the meeting they held yesterday with President Christofias within the framework of the Cyprus talks was a preparation for the tripartite summit to be held with the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

In statements at his office after returning from the meeting with President Christofias, Eroglu noted that yesterday the sides expressed their views regarding the tripartite meeting which most probably will be held in the first week of July in Geneva or New York.

Eroglu stated that the issue of the police was on their agenda yesterday and that the Turkish Cypriot side responded to the views expressed before by the Greek Cypriot side. He said the leaders assigned their special representatives with the duty of discussing and concluding the issue of internal security and police during their meeting next Friday.

Eroglu said that they took up issues to be discussed during the tripartite summit and what kind of a meeting this will be. He added that the sides asked for time to evaluate all these.

He said they mutually agreed that the next meeting between the leaders will be held on 1 June, because President Christofias will visit Australia after the parliamentary elections to be held in the government-controlled area of the Republic of Cyprus.

Responding to a question, Eroglu said there will be six chapters at the tripartite summit and the UN Secretary-General will put forward his views on these six chapters. He noted that what is important are the views of the sides. Eroglu reiterated the view that all chapters should be discussed separately and that it would not be right to negotiate by connecting the chapters to each other. He said this is one of the issues of their disagreement with the Greek Cypriots.

Eroglu noted that the Turkish Cypriot side wants the issues of the guarantees and the territory to be discussed at the end and argued that this wish of the Turkish side is reflected in the reports of the UN Secretary-General as well.

Meanwhile, Kibris (13.05.11) reports also that Eroglu departed yesterday for Turkey in order to give a lecture at Sakarya University. In statements at the illegal Tymvou airport before his departure, Eroglu said the talks yesterday were held within a narrower circle upon a wish by Alexander Downer, UN Secretary-General’s Special Advisor on Cyprus.

Referring to his visit to Turkey, Eroglu noted that at Sakarya University he would meet with war veterans who participated in the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, and give a lecture on the Cyprus problem. He said he would also meet the Governor and the Mayor of Sakarya as well as representatives of two private institutions. He noted that after completing his contacts in Sakarya, he would visit Istanbul to participate in an activity to be organized by the Turkish Cypriot Cultural Association’s Istanbul branch.

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