Cyprus peace process

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres intends to meet next month with ethnically split Cyprus' rival Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders to gauge whether conditions are ripe to resume dormant peace talks, the Cypriot government spokesman said on Monday.

The president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) is expected to highlight a two-state solution during a meeting with the U.N.'s special envoy to Cyprus.

According to Turkish Cypriot presidential sources, Ersin Tatar is expected to meet Jane Holl Lute on Jan. 11 at 14:00 local time.

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) has ruled out negotiations over the island resuming where they left off three years ago, the country's president said on Dec. 1. 

Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar said Tuesday efforts to resolve Cyprus' ethnic division should start fresh and aim to achieve a two-state deal, because decades of negotiations for a federation-based agreement have got nowhere.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hami Aksoy on June 12 criticized the U.K. for not consulting the Turkish Cypriot administration and Ankara regarding a regulation of the use of properties on British bases by their owners, which the official said means a "change of the status" in the region of the bases.

Turkish-Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci says that no progress can be made in reunification talks with the Republic of Cyprus if Turkish Cypriots in the breakaway north do not renew his mandate.

Turkey late on April 21 slammed a statement by the Greek Foreign Ministry concerning the country's maritime jurisdiction areas and drilling activities.
"Greece, with today's statement, once again exhibits its unrealistic perceptions and rights-refusing attitudes regarding the problems in our region," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hami Aksoy said in a statement.

Medicines and protective medical equipment sent from Greek Cyprus to Turkish Cyprus as part of routine governmental procedures carried out within the bi-communal health committee have caused a state crisis in the north of the island.

Dozens of people pushed aside police barriers on Feb. 29 in Cyprus to protest the closing of a crossing point in the medieval core of the ethnically divided island nation's capital.

Protesters chanted and raised placards opposing the closure of the Nicosia crossing point, which the Greek Cypriot government said it ordered to help prevent the possible spread of the new coronavirus.

Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akıncı on Feb. 22 reiterated that the most realistic option for a settlement in Cyprus is bi-communal, bi-zonal federation.