Cyprus

A senior United Nations official says ethnically-split Cyprus has a "historic opportunity" to reunite in 2017 and a meeting in Geneva in early January will be crucial for a peace deal that has eluded the island for decades.

Eighteen months of intensive talks between the estranged Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities will culminate at meetings in Geneva starting on Jan. 8.

Days before a five-party conference in Geneva to solve the long-running Cyprus issue, Turkish Cypriot President Mustafa Akıncı has expressed hoped that 2017 could be a year of peace and resolution.

The Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and the President of Cyprus Nikos Anastasiadis met today in Athens in order to compare notes regarding the ongoing negotiations between the Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish-Cypriot community on the Cyprus dispute.

The two leaders decided that they would undertake some actions on an European and an international level.

Days before a five-party conference in Geneva to solve the long-running Cyprus issue, Turkish Cypriot President Mustafa Akıncı has expressed hoped that 2017 could be a year of peace and resolution.

Expectations of a successful outcome to reunification talks between rival leaders on Cyprus were somewhat dampened on Wednesday after Turkish-Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci reiterated to the Turkish service of the BBC that if Greece and Cyprus insist on a settlement which includes "no guarantees and no armies," then "negotiations will end before they even begin."

Nicosia insisted on Tuesday that the Republic of Cyprus will not be dissolved to make way for a federation with constituent Greek and Turkish states, and that the multilateral summit in Geneva, slated for January 12, that will seek to seal a reunification deal must include the participation of the permanent members of the UN Security Council to ensure its successful outcome.

The discovery of natural gas is a significant incentive to get Ankara's backing for a resolution to the Cyprus issue, says the country's President Nicos Anastasiades, who believes that the prospect of using some of the fuel lying beneath the seabed off the island's shores to cover a large part of Turkey's energy needs and transform the country into a regional energy hub could convince Turkish P

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades will visit Athens on Friday for a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras ahead of the January 12 multilateral summit in Geneva, reports said Tuesday.

Talks between the two leaders will be attended by Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias and his Cypriot counterpart Ioannis Kasoulides, reports said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wishes to discuss developments regarding Cyprus's peace negotiations with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras ahead of the crucial multilateral summit in Geneva on January 12, Kathimerini understands.

Probably excluding the academic-turned Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias and a minority of like-minded other politicians from all ideologies, particularly conservatives, Greece appears to have washed its hands of Cyprus. How could Greece continue playing an important role after the July 15, 1974, coup it engineered that opened the doors of the island to Turkey's intervention?