CYPRUS: UN envoy to hold more talks under climate of mistrust

UN envoy Jane Holl Lute returns to Cyprus at the weekend to meet Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades on Sunday as part of efforts to restart stalled UN-brokered talks to reunify the divided island.

In a post on Twitter, Cyprus government spokesman Prodromos Prodromou said that Anastasiades had a telephone conversation with Lute and she will meet the president at 10.00 am Sunday 7 April.

Lute is also scheduled to meet Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci for separate talks.

Meanwhile, Akinci has ruled out a joint meeting with his Greek Cypriot counterpart during Lute’s visit, saying it would be pointless claiming that Anastasiades has not budged from his position on political equality.

Nicosia argues that it’s the Turkish Cypriot side that is dragging its feet on issues of power sharing.

Lute’s new visit is part of her missions to help formulate the terms of reference that would govern a possible new round of UN-sponsored Cyprus talks that collapsed at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana in July 2017.