The Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders reacted positively, during an informal meeting on Tuesday (November 3rd), to the initiative for peace in Cyprus proposed by the UN, a UN statement said.
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It was the first meeting between the nationalist Ersin Tatar, elected on October 18 at the head of the self-proclaimed "
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
" (TRNC) and supported by Ankara, and the President of the Republic of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades.
The two leaders "
expressed their determination to respond positively to the commitment of the Secretary General of the United Nations to explore the possibility of organizing an informal 5 + UN meeting, in a favorable climate, at an appropriate time
", indicated the international body after their discussion.
This meeting would also involve Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom, former ruler of Cyprus who retained several military bases on the Mediterranean island after its independence in 1960.
The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he wanted to restart talks between the two camps after the election in the North which saw the surprise victory of Mr. Tatar.
No timetable on this process or on a possible second meeting between the two leaders was mentioned Tuesday.
The two-hour meeting took place at the residence of the head of the UN mission, Elizabeth Spehar, located in the buffer zone monitored by the UN.
“
This gave them the opportunity to get to know each other and have their first informal exchange of views in a cordial atmosphere
,” the statement continued.
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The last official negotiations conducted under the auspices of the UN failed at a conference in Switzerland in July 2017. Turkey, Greece and the United Kingdom - guarantors of the sovereignty of the island by a treaty dating from independence - were already part of it.
Cyprus has been divided since the 1974 invasion of the northern third by the Turkish army in reaction to a coup attempt to reattach the island to Greece.
This small territory, called TRNC, is very dependent politically and economically on Turkey, which has deployed more than 30,000 soldiers there.
The Republic of Cyprus, the only internationally recognized member of the European Union since 2004, exercises its authority over the part of the island located south of the buffer zone.
Unlike his predecessor Mustafa Akinci, Mr. Tatar favors a two-state solution rather than a reunification of Cyprus.