Cyprus leaders say more work needed to restart peace talks

The rival leaders of ethnically divided Cyprus say more work is needed to prepare the ground for the resumption of stalled reunification talks.

Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and the island's breakaway Turkish Cypriot leader, Mustafa Akinci, said in a joint statement on Sunday that United Nations Envoy Espen Barth Eide would continue contacts with them both to get negotiations back on track.

The leaders said they had an "open and constructive" exchange about what caused the talks to break down on February 16 and also shared ideas about moving the process forward.

The brief statement came at the end of an UN-hosted dinner where it was hoped the two leaders could smooth out their differences and then get back to the negotiating table as soon as possible.

[AP]