The warring leaders of ethnically divided Cyprus have made some headway in rebuilding trust between the Greek and Turkish-speaking communities, but they still have a long way to go before formally restarting stalled peace talks.
In an agreement reached following the UN-hosted meeting, Ersin Tatar, the leader of Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus, and Nikos Christodoulides, the island’s Greek Cypriot President, claimed they also accepted on restoring neglected cemeteries and establishing a joint group of young people from both sides of the divide to discuss issues relevant to them.
The measures matched those agreed to by the two presidents in a meeting with UN Secretary General António Guterres in Geneva last month, which intended to restart a peace process that had been on hold for over eight years.
Guterres said he will designate an ambassador to restart formal peace talks. The Mediterranean island of Cyprus has been split since 1974, when Turkish soldiers invaded following a failed coup by Greek union advocates.
Only Turkey acknowledges the Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence, and it has over 35,000 troops stationed in the island’s northern third. Although Cyprus joined the European Union in 2004, only the Greek Cypriot south, which houses the internationally recognised government, has full membership advantages.
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