Brussels, 08/07/2011 (Agence Europe) - The leaders of the divided island of Cyprus have agreed to intensify negotiations in an effort to overcome core differences by October, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said on 7 July. At a meeting with Ban in Geneva, the two sides also accepted an offer of additional UN help in their discussions. Ban described the meeting, with Greek Cypriot leader Dimitris Christofias and his Turkish Cypriot counterpart Dervis Eroglu, as useful and productive, saying it had touched upon issues previously avoided. “We have identified some of the difficulties that are standing in the way of reaching a comprehensive agreement, and we have discussed the need to significantly intensify the negotiations”, he said in a statement.
The northern third of Cyprus was annexed by Turkey in 1974 in response to a Greek-engineered coup. The southern part of the island joined the European Union in 2004. The dispute has undermined Turkey's efforts to join the EU and blocked military cooperation between the EU and NATO. “More than seven years after Cyprus' accession to the European Union a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem is overdue. A mutually agreed settlement will be the basis for the long-expected reunification of the country and end one of the oldest conflicts on European soil”, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said ahead of the Geneva talks.
Ban said an agreement between the two Cypriot leaders by October could permit an official meeting under UN auspices in New York later that month. He said it would also allow him to report favourably to the UN Security Council, which could pave the way for an international conference on Cyprus. (LoC)