In the Zone

The Cypriot leaders have agreed to start full-fledged talks on 3 September. The decision came following a relatively brief meeting — two and a half hours, as opposed to four and a half for the previous one on 1 July.

The leaders also agreed a package of measures aimed at making life easier for Cypriots on both sides of the Green Line. Among these, and very importantly for the drought-stricken island, is a campaign to incite people to save water. The two sides will also try to come up with a recommendation on the exchange of information and intelligence on crime and criminal matters. For the full text of the statement and the complete of measures agreed, see the news section of the UNFICYP web site .

Update:  Leaders back in full meeting.  In the absence of any news to report for the moment, some journalists are seizing on anything that could be significant.  On glimpsing a medic through a window, a TV reporter sent the following text message to the UNFICYP media office: “I saw a doctor.  Is everyone OK?”

Update:  The leaders have gone to a side room to meet one-on-one.  This separate meeting has so far lasted a little over 30 minutes.

Update:  The leaders have arrived and settled in to begin their session in the presence of Taye-Brook Zerihoun, the UN Secretary-General’s special representative and head of UNFICYP.  Their advisors, George Iacovou and Ozdil Nami, are accompanying them.  The leaders made no comments to the waiting media as they entered the meeting venue.  

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The Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders — Demetris Christofias and Mehmet Ali Talat, respectively — will meet in Nicosia’s United Nations Protected Area later this morning for the fourth time since the peace process in the island was revived in March.

We’ll be bringing you updates of the event throughout the day from the venue, a stately if somewhat tired villa that serves as the official residence of the head of UNFICYP.

As of this writing the sat vans that will help the media cover the meeting live are already lined up to enter the UN compound, which is part of the buffer zone that separates the two sides in Cyprus.

As Greek Cypriot leader Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat prepare to hold their fourth meeting under UN auspices this Friday, journalists wishing to cover the event have been advised to BYOS:  bring your own sandwiches and …  sunscreen.

For the last meeting of the leaders, on 1 July, journalists waited over four hours in temperatures hovering around 40 degrees celcius before the two leaders emerged with a joint statement.  In what has become the usual practice, UNFICYP had provided tents as well as water, tea and coffee.  Most journalists took the difficult conditions in stride.  One, however, pointed in his newspaper to the (high) temperature of the drinking water as evidence of a lack of hospitality.  For this meeting, UNFICYP has undertaken to keep the water cool.  It hasn’t made any promises about the scorching Cypriot summer, though.

This is a line from the note sent to the media regarding the meeting:  “Water, tea and coffee will be provided free but please note that there are no facilities for distributing food.  A tented area will provide shade, but hats, umbrellas and sunscreen are recommended”.