UN chief hails progress in Geneva talks over Cyprus

Geneva: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the informal meeting on the Cyprus issue, held over two days in Geneva, Switzerland, had made “meaningful progress.”

The meeting, convened at Guterres’ request, took place at the UN Office in Geneva. It was attended by Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides, Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, and representatives from Greece, Turkey, and Britain, the three guarantor powers, Xinhua news agency reported.

Guterres stated that the talks had yielded progress, with both sides agreeing on a series of new trust-building measures, fostering a “new atmosphere” in the discussions.

He also noted that the parties agreed to convene another meeting in late July and to appoint a new UN Special Envoy for the Cyprus issue.

“Mr. Tatar and Mr. Christodoulides have agreed on the following group of initiatives to build trust,” Guterres said, listing “opening of the four crossing points, demining, creation of a technical committee on youth, initiatives on the environment and climate change including the impacts on mining areas; solar energy in the buffer zone and the restoration of cemeteries.”

According to media reports, Christodoulides expressed “satisfaction with the outcome,” while Tatar similarly stated that he was “satisfied” with the talks.

Cyprus has remained divided since 1974, when a Turkish military intervention followed a coup by Greek army officers. A buffer zone separating the island’s Greek and Turkish Cypriot parts has been under the oversight of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP).

Peace talks have been stalled since the collapse of a similar conference in Switzerland in July 2017. Since then, Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots have hardened their stance, advocating for permanent partition and international recognition of a breakaway state established by Turkey in 1983.

–IANS