Triletarel Cyprus summit begins at green tree estate, NY

The first day of a trilateral summit on Cyprus which was held at the Greentree Estate in New York and attended by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Mun, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Dervis Eroglu and Cyprus Greek administration leader Dimitris Christophias ended with intensive negotiations. Alexander Downer, UN envoy for Cyprus, noted that especially presidency of a new federal Cyprus, as well as property and citizenship issues were discussed during the summit. In response to the question why the chapter of land was not opened to negotiations, Downer said, "The UN is not prohibiting any discussion on the land issue; anyone can discuss whatever he/she wants. But will they be able to make a decision? This is another issue." Downer also said that it would be wrong to say that the parties' position remained the same, adding that the UN hopes to see a solution to the issue until Greek Cypriots take over the EU term presidency, which is a huge responsibility.