In an effort to restart stalled reunification talks, incoming Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides met for the first time on Thursday with Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar.
The internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus, a member of the EU, and a northern statelet established after Turkey launched an invasion in 1974 in response to a Greek-sponsored coup divide the Mediterranean island.
Only Ankara recognizes the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
The former foreign minister of Cyprus, Christodoulides, told reporters that the meeting was just a friendly one and that he would meet Tatar again soon, but no date had been set.
Christodoulides stated, “I said I remained open despite our different approaches.” “I didn’t hear anything I wasn’t expecting.” I’m not here to apportion blame.
“The substance interests me. The outcomes intrigue me. I want to accomplish our objective, which is merely breaking the deadlock.
On February 12, Christodoulides won a presidential election that was closely contested, and he will take office on March 1.
After nearly six years, he stated that he remained optimistic about resuming formal negotiations within the UN framework.
“This wasn’t a discussion about the most important issues. There was no negotiation here.”
As Tatar insists on the recognition of two separate sovereign states and rejects the loose federal model promoted under the UN umbrella, diplomats have struggled to move the dial on Cyprus talks.
Christodoulides stated, “I expressed our willingness to do everything possible to break the deadlock, always within the agreed-upon framework of the UN, and also with the EU playing a leading role.”
According to a statement from the United Nations, the two leaders “had an informal discussion which was open and constructive” after the two-hour meeting in the UN-controlled buffer zone in Nicosia.
It said that Tatar and Christodoulides talked about a lot of things, like the recent devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.
UN peace talks haven’t worked in the past. In July 2017, the most recent negotiations ended in failure at Crans-Montana in Switzerland.