Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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163. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the recent Cypriot reunification talks in Geneva, Switzerland (details supplied); and his views on the talks. [3368/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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Ireland fully supports the achievement of a mutually acceptable and comprehensive settlement in Cyprus, based on a bicommunal, bizonal federation with political equality, as set out in the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

Our Ambassador in Nicosia reports very regularly on developments, as do our Embassies in Athens and Ankara, and my officials are also in touch with the Embassy of Cyprus here.

On his State Visit to Ireland last October, President Anastasiades expressed his hope that real progress would soon be made, and in that context, I have been very pleased to see positive movement in the talks on the Cyprus question, the most recent round of which concluded in Geneva earlier this month. There was no expectation of a final deal, but considerable advances have been made, including a first exchange of maps on territorial distribution between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot Leaders, as well as a first discussion between the Leaders and the three guarantor powers (Greece, Turkey and the UK) on international security guarantees. Some technical issues have been referred to experts for their consideration. I very much hope to see decisive progress in future talks.

I wish both Leaders well in their on-going negotiations, and hope that the goodwill expressed on both sides results in a sustainable, peaceful solution.