President Rauf Denktaþ has said that there would be another break in the ongoing direct talks.

Speaking to the reporters, the President said that there would be a break between the 21st and 25th of April due to the Greek Cypriots’ Easter in April and his own contacts abroad.

He said that this would not lead to a time waste because the United Nations Secretary General’s special representative to Cyprus Alvaro de Soto could brief the UN on the ongoing process, benefiting from this break.

Answering to a question on the missing persons’ issue, President Denktaþ reminded that the Turkish Cypriot side has already presented a draft document, which is yet to be answered.

Reminding that the Greek Cypriots have yet to disclose how many people they themselves had killed during the 15th of July coup in 1974, he said it is a well-known fact that the Greek Cypriots have added the names of many of these people on the missing persons’ list and put the blame on the Turkish side after the Turkish peace operation.

He called on the Greek Cypriot administration to issue the list of those killed during the July 15th coup.

He said that provided the Greek Cypriots learn who started the 1963-74 events, they could appreciate the security needs the Turkish Cypriot side is pressing for, to be safeguarded in a future agreement.

Pointing out to the fact that the-then 1960 Cyprus Republic was destroyed by the Greek Cypriots themselves, Mr. Denktaþ stressed that the Turkish Cypriot side’s pressing for additional measures constitutes a right.

Referring to the proposal for a so-called three-zone federation, he said that despite the claim that there would be no displacements of people in this kind of a settlement; it is not clear where the Turkish Cypriots who currently live there - will have to go, if-and-when the Greek Cypriots who used to live there in the past, would want to settle there.

He repeated the Turkish Cypriot side’s view that a solution to the Cyprus problem can still be achieved if the Greek Cypriot side stops trying to turn the island into a Greek one, and – using the EU prospective as a threat to push the Turkish Cypriots into accepting to return to the 1960 order.

He said the Turkish side’s initiative aimed at striking an agreement to end the Cyprus problem should not be taken as a sign of weakness.

He said this initiative represents the Turkish side’s strong wish to help solve this problem, which could easily ignite a fresh crisis between the two motherlands that would engulf the whole region.

As to whether the so-called "three-zone" solution was taken up during his meeting with the EU Commissioner in Charge of Enlargement Mr. Gunther Verheugen, the President said the issue was not raised in any way.

He said that at a time when the sides are negotiating to end the Cyprus problem, there are many lessons that should be derived from the political representation of the bi-lingual Belgium within the European Union, and on how the sovereignty issue has been tackled in the Cantonal Switzerland.

The President – nevertheless – repeated his strong belief that the chances of reaching a solution to the Cyprus problem are quite high.

He said that –among other things- the respect to the Turkish side’s territorial rights, its political equality and sovereignty, are vital in reaching that goal.

President Rauf Denktaþ and the Leader of the Greek Cypriot Administration Glafcos Clerides meets again today to continue with their direct negotiations aimed at finding a lasting solution to the Cyprus problem.

The meeting at the Lefkoþa Conference Center in the UN-controlled buffer zone will take place in the afternoon at the presence of the UN Secretary General’s Special Adviser on Cyprus Alvaro de Soto, who is joining the talks as an observer.

During the second round of negotiations, which began on the 1st of March after a break, the two leaders are meeting every Tuesdays and Fridays.