Turk Cypriots say July 1 meeting aims to start comprehensive talks

In a weekly press briefing, Ercakica said the two leaders will convene to assess the efforts of the working groups and technical committees that were established as part of a mutual agreement on March 21 and discuss a calendar to start "comprehensive talks".  Â

"We expect the meeting between Talat and Christofias to declare the beginning of comprehensive solution negotiations," Ercakica also said. Â

The two leaders of the island brokered a landmark agreement on March 21 to enter fully-fledged peace talks after a series of meetings at the level of technical committees.

Early expectations that the talks could start in June appeared to be dissipating as both sides found the going sluggish at the committee level when faced with sensitive issues of property, territory and security.

The two leaders will meet on July 1 to assess progress made during preparatory talks before deciding whether to launch a fresh initiative to end the island's division.

SLOW PROGRESS

George Iacovou, a top aide to Christofias, saw little hope for fully fledged reunification talks before September.

"We say at this point in time, no progress has really been made in the working groups," Iacovou told a small group of journalists, the AFP reported.

"Therefore we should keep trying, and I would guess that there will be fully fledged negotiations after the summer," he said.

In the key working groups of security, territory and property, "very little progress has been made, if any," Iacovou said, while the negotiators had "done some good work" on governance, the economy and EU-related issues.

The Greek Cypriot official also appealed for greater European Union involvement in the process.

"We want very much Brussels to be involved but Turkey is not happy with Brussels to be involved. The Turks want the U.N. to be involved because they think they can get a better deal," he was quoted by the AFP as saying.

"We find it very strange the EU is present everywhere in the Middle East, in Darfur, solving problems in the Congo Lakes, and here they only surface as experts," said Iacovou.

However, he also cautioned against efforts to speed up the process. "It is wrong to press for instant results on difficult questions," he said.