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UN envoy for Cyprus hails new steps for unification

Xinhua, May 29, 2015 Adjust font size:

The UN envoy for Cyprus, Espen Barth Eide, on Thursday welcomed the next steps taken by the Greek Cypriot leader, Nicos Anastasiades, and the Turkish Cypriot leader, Mustafa Akinci, toward fulfilling their joint vision for a united federal Cyprus.

In a statement delivered earlier Thursday, Eide "welcomed the next latest steps taken by the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders towards fulfilling their joint vision for a united federal Cyprus," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here.

"Mr. Eide said that both leaders have underlined again their shared will and determination to reach a comprehensive settlement, " the spokesman said.

"They have agreed to five concrete steps moving forward, including to work towards opening more crossing points," he said. "They have also agreed to make a strong joint appeal on the crucial humanitarian issue of missing persons."

Eide's statement comes after two weeks of meetings between negotiating teams from both sides. The outcome of their negotiations was then presented to the leaders, and more meetings are expected in June and July.

Besides the crucial humanitarian issue of missing persons, the leaders agreed to the following five concrete steps: to work towards opening more crossing points, to interconnect electricity grids, to explore practical steps to merge their mobile telephone networks, to work to prevent radio frequency interference, and to establish a committee on gender equality.

Eide said the leaders agreed to explore a range of other possible confidence-building measures in parallel to the substantive negotiations.

On May 15, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the UN Security Council welcomed the resumption of the Cyprus settlement talks, voicing their hope that the leaders take advantage of this opportunity to reach a proper solution under relevant council resolutions.

It was during the 1974 conflict that Turkish troops, reacting to a short-lived coup engineered by officers of the army junta then ruling Greece, occupied the northern part of the Mediterranean island, dividing the Greek and Turkish Cypriot population.

All previous efforts to solve the Cyprus problem had failed. Endite