Ledra Street

UN peacekeepers on the ethnically divided island of Cyprus are reportedly keeping a close eye on recent Turkish Cypriot activity in the buffer zone between the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish-occupied north, following tension in August over Turkish Cypriot efforts to build a road traversing United Nations-controlled territory.

UN police in Cyprus were taking no chances at the Ledra checkpoint on Monday, blocking Turkish Cypriot demonstrators in the north who wanted to bring flowers to Greek Cypriot riot police behind fortified barricades in the south.

Greek Cypriot police sprayed tear gas on March 7 as several hundred people protested against the closure of crossings on the divided island's ceasefire line over coronavirus fears.

Four Greek Cypriot police officers were injured allegedly in divided Nicosia during scuffles with demonstrators in which police made use of personal tear gas spray to disperse the crowd.

The upcoming meeting of the two leaders on Friday is a significant step in terms of keeping the dialogue open on issues that are of importance to both communities, UN envoy Elizabeth Spehar said on Wednesday evening.

The upcoming tender to find an operator for the Athens Ledra hotel has attracted the interest of three domestic and two foreign investors, according to banking and real estate sources. However, those investors are not interested in offering anywhere close to the redetermined asking price level of 48 million euros.

Mustafa Ak?nc? and Nikos Anastasiades, the leaders of the two communities of the divided Cyprus wined and dined at an occasion hosted by Espen Barth Eide, the special envoy of the UN secretary-general, and agreed to kick off the Cyprus talks wherever they were abandoned last October by the Greek Cypriot leadership.

Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos visited the old town of Nicosia, Cyprus' capital city, on Tuesday and walked the streets of the buffer zone, the demilitarised area patrolled by the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus.

The leaders of both Turkish and Greek communities in Cyprus recently signed a joint declaration committing themselves to a confederation of two federal states. Thus the Cyprus negotiations restarted. That is better than the alternative. But there is reason to look beyond the usual pessimism of Cyprus watchers. I think this round is truly set to be different. Let me explain why.