Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders Nicos Anastasiades and Mustafa Akinci began talks in Switzerland on Monday 7 November to try to reach a settlement on reunifying the island of Cyprus by the end of the year. The negotiating cycle, which will focus, inter alia, on territorial arrangements, will continue until Friday 11 November.
At the opening of the negotiations, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon suggested that a solution, bringing an end to 42 years of division, was “within reach”. “A number of sensitive and difficult issues still remain. … The two leaders have reached a critical juncture in their talks but the prospect of a solution for Cyprus is within reach”, he said.
Ban added that Anastasiades and Akinci had expressed “their hope that this meeting will pave the way for the last phase of the talks in line with their shared commitment to do their utmost in order to reach a settlement within 2016”. He pointed out that expectations in both communities were high.
Ban also called on all interested parties, in particular the guarantor countries – Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom – to back the process.
When asked about the resumption of negotiations, European Commission spokesperson Margaritis Schinas stated that the institution “was strongly supporting” the talks “both politically and technically” and that support for reunification was one of its priorities. “The Commission welcomes recent progress and efforts”, he added.
Discussions on the reunification of the island resumed in May 2015. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)