UN Chief To Host Top-Level Intra-Cypriot Talks In September - Spokesman

(@FahadShabbir)

UN Chief to Host Top-Level Intra-Cypriot Talks in September - Spokesman

Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, will hold an informal meeting with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar in the coming weeks, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th September, 2021) Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, will hold an informal meeting with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar in the coming weeks, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

"What I can tell you is that the Secretary-General and the Cypriot leaders will have an informal lunch this month," Dujarric told a briefing on Friday, when asked to comment on Anastasiades' request that the UN organizes talks between himself and Tatar that would aim to resolve the Cyprus divide.

The spokesman noted that the exact date of the meeting is yet unknown but will be released soon.

Cyprus has been divided into the internationally-recognized Republic of Cyprus and the separatist Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied over 30% of the island. The United Nations has attempted brokering reunification talks, but the negotiation has reached an impasse.

In July, the self-proclaimed TRNC, backed by Ankara, unilaterally demilitarized the UN-protected quarter of Varosha, a town in the buffer zone that separates the Greek and Turkish communities on the island. The UN Security Council condemned the move, saying it violates all previous United Nations resolutions on Cyprus.