The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon sees “significant progress” in the Cyprus peace talks and notes that reaching an understanding on all issues is possible.
Ban commended both Cypriot leaders for their efforts and asked them to capitalize on the current momentum.
According to a UN announcement, in his remarks following a meeting he had earlier today with the President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades and the Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci, in the presence of Special Adviser Espen Barth Eide, at the World Economic Forum, in Davos, Ban also noted that difficult issues still remain.
The UN Secretary General said this was his first meeting with both leaders together, where he had the opportunity to hear directly from them about their efforts, since they resumed negotiations in May 2015.
“The leaders and I had a very comprehensive discussion on the current state-of-play in the Cyprus talks” said the UN SG, and commended them for their efforts.
“Significant progress has been made in this leader-led process over the past eight months, demonstrating that with political will, it is possible to reach an understanding on all issues” Ban has said, while noting that “a number of sensitive and difficult issues still remain”.
Moreover, he encouraged the leaders to capitalize on the current positive momentum, as “it will be crucial as they move forward to tackle outstanding issues across the different chapters”.
“I encouraged Mr. Akıncı and Mr. Anastasiades to continue working tirelessly towards finding a comprehensive solution to the Cyprus issue as soon as possible, for the benefit of all Cypriots” he went on.
Ban call finally on all interested parties to do their utmost to facilitate and support the leaders in their quest for overcoming the division of Cyprus.
UN-led talks are currently underway to find a negotiated settlement that would reunite Cyprus, divided since the 1974 Turkish invasion, under a federal roof.