Akıncı: “Greek Cypriot side have a phobia of timetables”

President Mustafa Akıncı has reiterated that in order to reach a settlement in the Cyprus talks, a timetable must be clarified and adhered to from now on.

In an interview with NTV, Akıncı stated that “the Greek Cypriot side is not usually eager to talk about timetables and time limits – in a way, they have a phobia of timetables.”

In his interview to NTV, President Akıncı said: “We have reached an important stage.”

When asked if the Turkish Cypriots are ready for the five-party conference in which Turkey and Greece will participate, Akıncı said:

“We have actually reached that stage.  We have devised a timetable for the negotiations and the last point of that timetable is the five-party conference.”

“If both sides maintain their commitment to the 2016 target, the five-party conference could happen before the end of the year.”

Akıncı noted that a period of intensified negotiations will take place in October, as was previously thought.

In his interview, Akıncı outlined that the Cyprus problem has 6 main chapters: 4 of these have been negotiated with significant progress made. The current objective of the talks is to minimize the number of areas of contention in the four chapters by mid-October.

A recent statement by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon confirmed the “unprecedented progress” which has been made on the Cyprus issue. Referring to the territory issue, Akıncı said that both sides are trying to create a safe environment where it can be discussed, and thus they have had a series of meetings in New York and are planning a five-party conference.

The President stated: “We want solutions to all these problems to be realized in the next few months. Both the UN and the Greek Cypriot side are aware of this.”

“The Turkish Cypriot side has shown their determination to act fast and adhere to the timetable. We have reached a crucial stage in the negotiations, and our aim is to reach a settlement.”