Cyprus President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu met on Monday, for the first time in the context of the intensified phase of UN-led direct talks to solve the Cyprus problem.

After the meeting that lasted four and a half hours UN Secretary General`s Special Representative in Cyprus Liza Buttenheim, said that today’s meeting was on of the four devoted on governance and power sharing.

“The meeting took place in a positive atmosphere. They discussed core issues under this chapter which will continue at the next leader’s meeting on Friday July 29”, she said.

Buttenheim pointed out that the leaders agreed that during this intensified phase, ensuring confidentiality about their discussion will be a precondition for progress

Answering to a question Buttenheim said that UN Secretary General`s Special Advisor on Cyprus, Alexander Downer will be returning to the island next week and will be present at next Monday’s meeting.

She also said that the advisors of the two leaders will have a meeting on Thursday morning to discuss one issue that was raised this morning.

Cyprus was divided when Turkey invaded in 1974. UN led negotiations have been ongoing since 2008 between the leaders of the two communities in Cyprus, in an effort to reunite the island under a federal roof.

President Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Eroglu met with UN SG Ban Ki-moon in Geneva, on July 7th, and according to Ban`s statement after the meeting, they agreed to enter into an intensive period of negotiations on the core issues of the Cyprus problem, with an aim of achieving convergences before meeting again in New York, next October.