NICOSIA (Reuters) – Tentative U.N. plans to convene the leaders of Cyprus’s divided communities for talks as early as next week were uncertain on Monday as one side said it had not received an invitation.
The United Nations has been trying to find common ground for the resumption of long-stalled talks between rival Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities in a conflict spanning decades, a major source of tension between Greece and Turkey.
Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides told an audience late Saturday that he had been “sounded out” for talks hosted by the United Nations in New York on Aug. 13 with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar.
“My response was positive and I hope – we haven’t been informed yet – for the same response from the Turkish side and the meeting to lead to positive results,” Christodoulides said.
Tatar said he had not received an invitation and accused Christodoulides of trying to muddy the waters with his comment.
“There is no invitation from the U.N. Secretary-General … for a tripartite meeting. In any case, under the current conditions, we would not approve a tripartite meeting. There is no basis for such a meeting,” he said in a statement.
Christodoulides said any possible refusal from Tatar to meet would be a “disservice” to Turkish Cypriots.
A U.N. spokesperson in Cyprus referred queries to U.N. headquarters in New York, where there was no immediate response to a Reuters request for comment.
Cyprus was split in a Turkish invasion in 1974 after a brief Greek-inspired coup. The seeds of division were sown earlier when a power-sharing administration crumbled and violence prompted the dispatch of a peacekeeping force.
Peace talks have been on hold since 2017. The Turkish Cypriot side, which administers a breakaway state in the north of Cyprus recognised only by Ankara, now says a resumption of talks can only occur if its equal sovereignty with the internationally recognised Greek Cypriot government is accepted.
(Writing by Michele Kambas; editing by Mark Heinrich)
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