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Eide to present ideas το Cyprus leaders

08/05/2017 09:23
Espen Barth Eide, the Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on Cyprus, said Friday he would present to the leaders in Cyprus some ideas put forward by the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. He was speaking after a meeting with Guterres at the UN headquarters, in New York.

UN sources clarified, however, that these ideas do not entail an invitation to the leaders to meet with the UN chief.

According to an announcement, published on the website of the Good Offices Mission in Cyprus, following the meeting, "Eide said he and the Secretary-General had held a `thorough, strategic discussion` at this critical juncture of the Cyprus talks".

It is added that while in New York, Eide also held consultations with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, the guarantors and the sides, "all of whom are in agreement that the progress achieved in the talks should not be lost, and the existing momentum should be utilised".

It should be noted that Eide did not meet with the Permanent Representative of Greece to the UN, Ambassador Catherine Boura.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Ongoing UN-backed talks aim at reuniting the island under a federal roof.