Athens pleased with progress in Cyprus talks

Talks between Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in Athens went extremely well, government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos told Cypriot television channel RIK on Thursday, adding that the stance adopted by outgoing US President Barack Obama on the issue during his visit to Athens this week was constructive.

“The important thing is that no pressure was exerted for asphyxiating deadlines as regards the progress of the talks,” Tzanakopoulos said.

The government spokesman also stressed the need for the abolition of the “anachronistic status quo involving guarantees” on Cyprus and for the withdrawal of Turkish troops from the island’s occupied north as preconditions for a “just and viable solution.”