{"id":3084,"date":"2011-01-25T15:18:32","date_gmt":"2011-01-25T14:18:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.interpeace.org\/?p=3084"},"modified":"2015-07-31T16:06:40","modified_gmt":"2015-07-31T14:06:40","slug":"un-secretary-general-holding-critical-peace-talks-interpeace-provides-insights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.interpeace.org\/fr\/2011\/01\/un-secretary-general-holding-critical-peace-talks-interpeace-provides-insights\/","title":{"rendered":"UN Secretary-General holding critical peace talks - Interpeace provides insights"},"content":{"rendered":"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<\/p>\n

Geneva, 25 January 2011<\/p>\n

The Greek Cypriot leader, Dimitris Christofias, and the Turkish Cypriot leader, Dervis Eroglu, will meet in Geneva on 26 January 2011 with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Opinion polls provide latest insights into the issues on the table on Wednesday.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Today the island of Cyprus remains divided in two, with Turkish Cypriots to the north of the \u2018Green Line,\u2019 and Greek Cypriots to the south. The dividing line is a buffer zone, patrolled by United Nations troops and is impassable except for a few designated crossing points.<\/p>\n

The defacto division of the island in 1974 continues to be the subject of intense debate on and off the island. The Cyprus issue has been addressed over the past four decades by dozens of UN Security Council resolutions and countless conflict\u2010resolution efforts that, so far, have not been able to resolve the problem.<\/p>\n

The situation in Cyprus, often termed as a \u2018frozen conflict\u2019, is now a major issue blocking Turkey\u2019s membership in the European Union (EU). With Turkey\u2019s elections coming up, pressure to find a solution is likely to come from all sides.<\/p>\n

Political leaders from both sides recognize that a resolution could be advantageous, and so have restarted constructive negotiations.<\/p>\n

The high level talks in Geneva on Wednesday 26th January are a key milestone in moving the peace process forward. Both leaderships have been working hard on bridging proposals where there is limited convergence. Issues of governance and power\u2010sharing, the economy, relations with the European Union, and property are the areas currently being examined.<\/p>\n

In partnership with the United Nations, Interpeace started the project \u2018Cyprus 2015\u2019 in 2009. \u201c\u2018Cyprus 2015\u2019 is taking an active role in finding solutions for the Cyprus conflict with a focus on research and dialogue for sustainable peace,\u201d explained Turkish Cypriot Co\u2010Director of the initiative, Ahmet S\u00f6zen. He added: \u201cCritical to generating an agreement and support for a future settlement on all areas, is ensuring awareness and full ownership of the solution by the two communities throughout the whole island.\u201d<\/p>\n

Greek Cypriot Co\u2010Director, Spyros Christou added: \u201cThe work of \u2018Cyprus 2015\u2019 includes using island\u2010 wide public opinion polling for peace. The results from these surveys are used to inform the leaderships on both sides of the \u2018Green Line\u2019 to get a better sense of what people\u2019s attitudes are towards the peace negotiations. The results are also fed back to both communities so they are aware of opinions across the island and the nature of the options available for a resolution.\u201d<\/p>\n

The latest poll shows that:<\/p>\n