Anastasiades & Talat Hold Luncheon, Cyprus

After the two-hour lunch, the President confirmed that today's satisfactory dialogue does not affect his scheduled appointments with Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu. Anastasiades explained that today's meeting promoted constructive advancements, concerning a solution.

Highlights of the lunch included the agreement by both parties, that a decision must be made as soon as possible. The Cypriot President confirmed that EU principles should be mandated and Cyprus' membership in the EU cannot be ignored. The two governmental heads discussed building trust between the island's two sides, which is critical in achieving a constructive peace process.

The Cypriot President described the meeting as very positive, friendly and productive. Talat coined the luncheon as fruitful. According to Parikiaki, Anastasiades explained: "We agreed that we have to work much more intensively in order to speed up the whole process and expressed our hope that with a good understanding and much more will, we can reach the soonest possible a solution which will not ignore either the concerns of the Greek Cypriots or the concerns of the Turkish Cypriots compatriots".

Anastasiades added: "We have to realize that as a country we are a member of the EU and we are Europeans, all of us, all those people who are legally living in this blessed island and we have to work together, how to implement the acquis, the human rights with full respect and full prospects". Talat stated, "...creating a peace culture is very crucial".