New york: The Secretary-General Antonio Guterres underlined the continued steadfast commitment of the United Nations to a peaceful resolution of the Cyprus issue for the benefit of all Cypriots, a UN announcement says following Saturday’s trilateral meeting in New York with Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar.
According to Cyprus News Agency, the Secretary-General welcomed the implementation of several significant trust-building measures, agreed upon during the two informal meetings on Cyprus which he hosted in March and July of this year, while noting, however, that some initiatives remain pending.
The UN Secretary-General decided to dispatch his Personal Envoy for Cyprus for consultations, to prepare for an informal meeting in a broader format as soon as possible.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results due to Turkish intransigence. The lates
t round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.