Cyprus-Forum.com

[halil]

The United Nations Secretary General’s Special Advisor to Cyprus Alexander Downer has stated that it is possible to come to an agreement on a large number of issues on the Cyprus problem before the end of the year. In a statement he made to the Reuters news agency, Mr. Downer also gave news that ‘the UN is planning to prepare a report next month offering a frank assessment of where the negotiations stand’.
Downer said he was certain that the two leaders on the island wanted to solve the Cyprus problem but added that compromise was required from both sides.

He said ‘it would be good to get the bulk of the work done by the end of the year, just in terms of negotiations they can do it, whether they will I don’t know’.

Noting that the UN had never laid out a specific timetable for the conclusion of the talks Downer said ‘It’s definitely doable it’s not beyond the wit of man to solve the Cyprus problem.’

The UN Envoy said good progress had been made on governance and power sharing and added that discussions were now focusing on property.

‘If they can reach basic convergence on the property chapter that would be an enormous step forward’ said Downer.