In February 2013, Nicos Anastasiades was elected president of GCs. His position was that previous convergences would not bind him and that he would not accept a negotiation calendar. He also insisted that the goal and principles of the negotiations should be redefined. Talks that followed got stuck on the issue of “sovereignty”. For TCs sovereignty had to be layered. GCs insisted on single, indivisible sovereignty. By February 2014, external pressures increased and a draft emerged underlining single sovereignty. This led to the resignation of TC Negotiator Ertuğ, who was replaced by former Negotiator Özersay. The Joint Statement concluded on 11 February 2014 stated that “united Cyprus…shall have…single sovereignty…which emanates equally from Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots…” This was inadmissible to many TCs. However, it was first followed when Özersay visited Athens and Mavroyiannis visited Ankara simultaneously for meetings with respective officials. In May 2014, US Vice President Biden visited Cyprus and held separate meetings with Eroğlu and Anastasiades, calling on them to accelerate their efforts to unite the island. In September 2014, despite calls for cooperation, GCs initiated drilling activity in their unilaterally declared EEZ. In response, TCs despatched a seismic vessel to conduct studies in their licenced plots. Upon this, Anastasiades withdrew from the talks.