Cyprus rivals in bid to speed up peace talks
Rival Greek- and Turkish-Cypriot leaders held private talks on Friday in a bid to speed up slow-moving negotiations on reunifying the divided Mediterranean island.
President Dimitris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat met alone for a hour before being joined by their delegations for a further two hours of discussions, UN mediators said.
"The leaders had a productive meeting. They had a one-hour private meeting at the beginning and they have agreed to meet on a weekly basis," UN envoy Alexander Downer said after the talks.
There had been criticism of the pace of the negotiations launched on September 3 after the two leaders failed to meet between September 18 and Friday. Christofias travelled to New York for the UN General Assembly and also made a state visit to Bulgaria.
Downer said the two leaders had agreed to meet again on Monday to continue their discussions.
"The leaders today had further discussions on the powers of a federal government and they made progress," he said.
"They also began discussions on the structure of a federal executive. Both sides made proposals and these discussions will continue on Monday."
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