United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Friday met with Mustafa Akinci, the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community, with whom he exchanged views on the prospects for renewed Cyprus talks.
A readout issued by the UN right after the meeting says that “the Secretary-General and Mr. Akıncı exchanged views regarding the prospects for renewed talks on the Cyprus issue since the closure of the Conference on Cyprus in July 2017“.
Earlier on the same day, the UNSG met with President of the Republic Nicos Anastasiades.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied 37% of its territory. Numerous UN-backed negotiations, aiming at reuniting the island under a federal roof, have failed to yield results. The latest talks under UN aegis took place in the summer of 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana.