UN chief hails progress in talks with rival Cyprus leaders

By AFP/Robin MILLARD

UN chief Antonio Guterres on Tuesday said the two rival Cypriot leaders had made the first meaningful progress in years towards healing the Mediterranean island's divisions, following talks at the United Nations.

Guterres said there was now a "new atmosphere" and a sense of urgency, after both sides agreed to open more crossing points, work together on solar energy and removing landmines, and to meet again in July.

"Today there was meaningful progress," he told reporters after hosting the talks at the UN headquarters in Geneva.

Guterres brought together President Nikos Christodoulides of the Greek-speaking, internationally recognised Republic of Cyprus and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar for the talks.

They were flanked by Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Britain's Europe minister Stephen Doughty.

The three countries have been guarantors of the island's security since 1960.

Guterres said the two Cypriot leaders agreed to six initiatives to "build trust".

He listed these as opening four crossing points; clearing landmines; creating a technical committee on youth; initiatives on the environment and climate change; solar energy in the UN buffer zone separating the two sides; and the restoration of cemeteries.

"Discussions were held in a constructive atmosphere, with both sides showing clear commitments to making progress and continuing dialogue," he said.

Guterres committed to appointing a new personal envoy to prepare the next steps for another meeting in the same format in late July.

'Sense of commitment'

Since a 1974 invasion by Turkey triggered by an Athens-backed coup, the island has been divided between the Greek-speaking south and the Turkish Cypriot north, which unilaterally declared independence in 1983 but is recognised only by Ankara.

Decades of UN-backed talks have failed to reunify the island.

Greek Cypriots in 2004 overwhelmingly rejected a UN-backed reunification plan in a referendum.

The last round of full-on peace talks, in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, collapsed in 2017.

But even before that meeting in the Swiss Alps, "there was no real progress on any aspect. And today there was," said Guterres.

He hoped that the confidence-building measures, the decision to meet again soon and the acceptance of a new envoy, "demonstrates the sense of commitment and the sense of urgency that I believe were extremely important. It's a new atmosphere".

The Republic of Cyprus is an EU member state. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus covers about a third of the island, including parts of the capital Nicosia.

Tatar said he was "satisfied" following the talks, while Christodoulides likewise voiced "satisfaction with the outcome".

"Today marked an important first step towards the resumption of negotiations," Christodoulides told reporters.

"This is our ultimate goal, and while we are not there yet... there have been developments in the right direction for the first time since 2017."

Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Oncu Keceli said the talks had been looking for areas of cooperation "in the current environment where there is no common ground... for the final solution of the Cyprus issue".

The measures announced by Guterres marked an important step towards "good neighbourly relations", he said.

"In the upcoming process, efforts will be made to develop a culture of cooperation between the two parties on the island."