Cyprus leaders: More work needed to restart peace talks

The brief statement came at the end of a highly anticipated dinner hosted by Eide, where it was hoped the two leaders could smooth out their differences and then get back to the negotiating table as soon as possible.

The four-hour dinner was held at a defunct luxury hotel that now doubles as a U.N. barracks inside the U.N.-controlled buffer zone that cuts across the capital, Nicosia. Several dozen supporters greeted the leaders as they arrived.

Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded in the wake of a coup mounted by supporters of union with Greece. Only Turkey recognizes a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence in the breakaway north and keeps more than 35,000 troops there.

After 21 months of solid progress, the talks broke down amid Turkish Cypriot protests over a bill making the commemoration of a 1950 referendum in support of union with Greece mandatory in Greek Cypriot schools. The referendum preceded a four-year guerrilla campaign by the majority Greek Cypriots against British colonial rule before the island gained independence in 1960.

Akinci, who insisted that the Greek Cypriot bid for union was the “root cause” of the island’s problems, said talks could begin only if the legislation is repealed.

Anastasiades said the legislation did not signal a Greek Cypriot deviation from a deal for a federated Cyprus. He said Akinci used the bill as an excuse to walk out of talks amid a hardening of the Turkish Cypriot stance ahead of Turkey’s April 16 referendum on expanding the president’s powers.

Menelaos Hadjicostis, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Cyprus leaders: More work needed to restart peace talks

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