CYPRUS: UN chief urges Cypriot leaders to agree on conditions to re-start talks

UN chief Antonio Guterres said it is imperative Cypriot leaders quickly reach an agreement on the terms of reference to revive frozen peace talks that will have a different outcome from past failures.

---

During a media conference ahead of the 74th UN General Assembly, Guterres said: “It’s very important to quickly come to an agreement on the terms of reference to be able to start substantial talks that this time I would hope would be different from all past ones.”

He said it was time to at least agree on the terms of reference, based on the work that was done at the last Cyprus conference in Crans-Montana.

“I’m a strong believer that the political process needs to be restarted and I think that is also very important for the parties”.

Countless rounds of UN-led peace talks have failed to yield results over the past 45 years. The last round of negotiations in July 2017, at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana, collapsed.

UN envoy Jane Holl Lute held intensive shuttle diplomacy between the leaders earlier this month to outline the parameters under which a fresh round of formal negotiations would begin.

She left the island empty handed when a deal seemed in sight before a last-minute hitch.

“I see a lot of impatience, namely the Security Council with the fact that there has been no progress. So, I believe that there are very good reasons for the parties to understand that at least on terms of reference they need to come to an agreement,” said Guterres.