US Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland has said that the leaders of the island’s two communities are making courageous decisions for peace, thinking about their people and the future of Cyprus.
In statements after a meeting he had with Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci, which lasted about an hour, she said that they are hopeful, noting that their meeting was very good.
“We also had a really good strategic conversation about the importance of peace and reconciliation here not just for all the people of Cyprus but also for this turbulent neighborhood which needs stability, which needs peace, which needs positive example of two communities living together,” she said.
She stressed that the US will continue to support this process and leaders as they take difficult steps, noting at the same time that “we want this to be a Cypriot-owned, a Cypriot-led process.”
UN-led peace talks resumed in May this year between Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and the Turkish Cypriot leader with a view to finding a negotiated settlement that would reunite the country, divided since the 1974 Turkish invasion.
