New York: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated that the recent meetings between Cyprus’s rival leaders at the United Nations headquarters in New York were constructive. The discussions, however, left certain issues, such as the opening of crossing points on the divided island, unresolved.
According to Nam News Network, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar engaged in talks that led to a breakthrough on the formation of a committee focused on youth and three other topics. Despite this progress, the issues related to the opening of four crossing points and the exploitation of solar energy in the buffer zone between the two sides remain unresolved.
Tatar mentioned that he had presented a counterproposal to his Greek Cypriot counterpart, which was not accepted. Expressing optimism, he emphasized that ground was not being lost and expressed hope for movement on the issue ahead of the United Nations General Assembly high-level meetings in September.
The recent meeting follows a significant one in Geneva in March, which marked the first meaningful progress in years. During that gathering, both sides agreed on a set of confidence-building measures, including opening more crossing points across the divide, cooperating on solar energy, and removing landmines.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, following a Turkish invasion prompted by a coup in Nicosia backed by Greece’s then-military junta. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, declared in 1983, is recognized solely by Ankara. The internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus, a member of the European Union, controls the island’s majority Greek Cypriot south. The last major round of peace talks collapsed in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, in July 2017.