The meeting scheduled between Cypriot President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat was cancelled last week because he had arranged meetings with Sweden’s Foreign Minister Carl Bildt in Stoickholm and with UN chief Ban Ki-moon in Paris.
Christofias admitted he was not happy about the meeting between Talat and the UN Secretary General but acknowledged there was nothing he could do about it.
“Mr. Talat has informed me, tomorrow’s meeting has been cancelled due to his flight schedule. What am I supposed to do: ask the UN to forbid Talat to meet with the Secretary General? Are we now to demand these things as well?” Christofias said at a press conference.
“The Turkish Cypriot leader has his own objectives…I don’t know whether this will help him,” said Christofias, adding that it would have been “unreasonable” for him to ask the UN to ignore Talat.
Talat’s meeting with Carl Bildt, seen as a key European “player” when it comes to the Cyprus issue, will be held at Stockholm’s Grand Hotel, instead of at the Swedish Foreign Ministry, as would normally happen according to protocol.
The peculiar arrangement is seen as “playing down” the meeting so as not to further anger Nicosia, which has a long-standing opposition to the upgrading of the breakaway regime.
Commentators suggested that Talat aims to boost his image as a leader ahead of the ‘parliamentary elections’ in the north. Talat’s CTP party is trailing behind in polls.
Reports say the Turkish Cypriot leader will be asking Ban for a more direct involvement in the Cyprus talks.