Mustafa Akıncı

The latest round of Cyprus talks collapsed once again due to what Turkish Cypriots claimed were the "maximalist demands" of the Greek Cypriot side, and Greek Cypriots lamented the uncompromising position of the Turks. Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akıncı has most probably earned the title of being "the saddest Cypriot." 

Turkish Cyprus has blamed Greeks and Greek Cypriots for the failure of long-anticipated peace talks to end one of the world's longest running conflicts. 

"Despite their best efforts, they have not been able to achieve the necessary further convergences on criteria for territorial adjustment that would have paved the way for the last phase of the talks," said a statement issued by the U.N. spokesperson in Cyprus. 

The first day of the second round of U.N.-mediated peace talks on the Cyprus issue in Switzerland on Nov. 20 failed to outline concrete steps to resolve the dispute, Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency cited a diplomatic source as saying on Nov. 21. 

Rival Cypriot leaders resumed U.N.-backed talks yesterday aimed at resolving four decades of division on the Mediterranean island with hopes of a breakthrough high but a key territory dispute unsettled.

Cyprus talks aimed at finding a peaceful solution to the more-than forty-year-old conflict of the eastern Mediterranean island are set to restart on Nov. 20 in Switzerland following a one week recess.

Intensified U.N. sponsored talks were held in Switzerland's Mont Pelerin from Nov. 7 to 11, although there was no precise statement as expected at the end of the talks.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has said the Cyprus talks, which are due to resume in Geneva on Nov. 20, have made considerable progress but there is still distance to cover before a final deal.

It is time for a resolution on the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus, the leader of Turkish Cyprus said on Nov. 15, the 33rd anniversary of the state's establishment. 

The Mont Pelerin rendezvous of the Turkish and Greek Cypriot leaders was slated to be an "end game" but it turned out to be an almost "game over." Upon request of the Greek Cypriot leaders, the deadlocked talks were suspended for one week and are scheduled to resume, this time in Geneva, on Nov. 20.

Five days of U.N.-sponsored talks on ending the decades-old division of Cyprus have adjourned without a breakthrough but negotiators vowed Nov. 12 to press on for a deal this year.