Espen Barth Eide

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias has written a book on the recent Cyprus peace talks, in which he criticises UN envoy Espen Barth Eide and shares details and documents unseen by the public.

Kotzias, a former career chief diplomat, played a pivotal role in the latest round of Cyprus talks that ended up in failure last summer.

The United Nations general secretary's deputy advisor for Cyprus is meeting on Friday with Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci.

Elizabeth Spehar met with Anastasiades in the morning and was to hold talks with Akinci later in the day, laying the groundwork for a visit to the divided island of the UN's new special Cyprus envoy, Jane Holl Lute.

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias said Greece and Turkey should first come to an agreement on the aspects of security and guarantees, before a new Conference on Cyprus is convened.

Turkey has reportedly approved the appointment of Jane Holl Lute as the United Nations' new special adviser in the Cyprus reunification talks, the Cyprus News Agency has reported.

Barring unforeseen circumstances will be assuming her new post next week after being formally appointed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the CNA said.

The firm belief that a historic opportunity was missed in Crans-Montana, is expressed by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, in a report for his good offices mission on Cyprus.

Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias has dismissed criticism over his handling of the failed Cyprus reunification talks in Switzerland in July, saying he could not accept the presence of Turkish forces on the island as part of a settlement as that would only perpetuate the problem.

A letter sent to President Nicos Anastasiades by UN chief Antonio Guterres confirms the international organization’s position that the Turkish-held fenced-off town of Varosha should open under UN-control.

And not under Turkish administration as it was widely speculated after the collapse of the UN-brokered Cyprus peace talks in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, in July.

In an attempt to point out the «role» of Mr. Espen Barth Eide regarding the overall negotiation process and especially his last «actions» where he took the blame off Turkey, our compatriot and associate of our electronic newspaper, Nicos Antoniades, sent a letter-complaint against Mr. Eide to all the members of the Norwegian Parliament.

After a farewell meeting with Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades in Nicosia on Thursday, outgoing United Nations envoy Espen Barth Eide said the reunification talks that collapsed last month at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana can only be revived through an agreement between both sides of the divide, and not the UN.

Beleaguered UN envoy Espen Barth Eide will come back to the island next week to say goodbye, informed sources told the Cyprus Weekly earlier this week.

“He is running for MP in his country’s elections, he can’t have it all, he is coming back for a farewell, there is nothing planned as far as the (UN-brokered reunification) talks are concerned,” an insider said on Thursday.