03 June, 2017
The leaders of the estranged Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities of Cyprus said on Thursday that they accepted an invitation by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to meet him at dinner in NY on Sunday in a bid to break the latest deadlock in the negotiations for the reunification of the eastern Mediterranean island.
FILE - In this Tuesday, April 11, 2017 file photo, a woman is seen through a military battle position from a wall at the U.N buffer zone that divided the south, Greek Cypriots, and the north, Turkish Cypriot breakaway controlled areas in Nicosia, Cyprus.
The peaceful protest took place in Nicosia, and saw people holding placards with slogans including "We are Cyprus" and "Unite Cyprus Now", accompanied with the beating of drums, blowing whistles and singing traditional folk songs.
President Nicos Anastasiades, a Greek Cypriot, said talks could become deadlocked over an insistence by Turkey and the breakaway Turkish Cypriots to keep Turkish troops deployed on the island even after a peace deal.
Turkish Cypriot President Mustafa Akinci and Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades have been involved in reunification talks to create a federal state since May 2015.
Turkey has maintained 35,000 troops in the country's breakaway Turkish Cypriot north since mounting an invasion in 1974 in response to a coup by supporters of union with Greece. Anastasiades has proposed the deployment of an worldwide police force to oversee security.
"If you're talking about zero troops and zero guarantees, then there's nothing left to talk about", Cavusoglu told reporters after talks with Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci.
Greek Cypriots wanted a conference in Geneva to first focus on clinching a deal on security arrangements post-settlement, while Turkish Cypriots sought a more inclusive give-and-take process.
The Turkish top diplomat also repeated a call for Anastasiades to cease a "unilateral" Greek Cypriot offshore oil and gas search that he said ignores the rights of Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots.
The Cyprus government says drilling is its sovereign right and that potential proceeds from any mineral wealth would be divvied up among all citizens once a peace deal is signed. If you would like to discuss another topic, look for a relevant article.
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