NICOSIA - The first direct talks since 1994 between the President of Cyprus, Mr Glafkos Clerides, and the Turkish Cypriot leader, Mr Rauf Denktash, are expected to take place at a "secluded venue near New York" before the end of June. Sir Kieran Prendergast, the UN Undersecretary for Political Affairs, said this yesterday after meetings here with the two leaders and ambassadors of the European Union and of the five permanent members of the Security Council.
As the object of the talks "is a comprehensive settlement" of the Cyprus problem, this meeting "will not be a one-off event, not a make or break occasion" but "will involve resumption of a process" involving additional meetings which could rotate between New York and another secluded site near Geneva, he continued.
