The first Turkish-Cypriot negotiator to have visited Athens in an official capacity in more than five decades on Thursday described his talks with Greek officials on the renewed Cyprus peace push as “historic and very constructive.”
Kudret Ozersay (photo) met for two hours with the Greek Foreign Ministry’s general secretary, Anastasis Mitsialis, and said the climate was more cordial than he had expected but gave no details about the substance of the talks.
Meanwhile in Ankara Greek-Cypriot official Andreas Mavroyiannis met with the Turkish Foreign Ministry in a parallel initiative.
In a related development on Thursday, the junior partner in Cyprus’s coalition quit the government following a dispute with President Nicos Anastasiades over the latter’s handling of the new peace drive.
The center-right DIKO party has accused Anastasiades of granting too many concessions to the Turkish Cypriots.
Kathimerini