All-day intensive Cyprus meetings to begin today

An intensive period of negotiations seeking a solution to the Cyprus problem is set to begin today. At meetings earlier this month in both Geneva and the UN Protected Area on Cyprus, leaders of the island's two nations agreed to a series of all-day intensive meetings twice a week starting today and proceeding through Oct. 21. Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Dervis Eroglu and Greek Cypriot leader Demetris Christofias will focus on working through the difficult core issues, starting with governance and power sharing. The first meeting is expected to be brief due to an overseas trip by Christofias. Alexander Downer, the UN secretary-general's special adviser for Cyprus, told reporters last week that the leaders agreed to talk for two full days a week and that all the substantive issues will be discussed during 19 meetings.