Roundup: UN, EU officials agree on ways to help reach Cyprus solution

The United Nations and the European Union (EU) agreed on ways to help Greek and Turkish Cypriots reach a solution to the decades' old Cyprus issue, a United Nations official said on Thursday.

UN Secretary General's special adviser Espen Barth Eide said after a meeting with European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker that they had "a meeting of minds... on how to support the Cypriots' quest for reunification."

Juncker is paying a two-day official visit to Cyprus at the invitation of Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades.

This is the first time the EU commits itself to actively working towards a Cyprus solution.

A UN spokesman in Nicosia said Eide and Junkcer had "a very productive meeting."

Juncker said he is following closely and on a regular basis the ongoing negotiations aimed at again bringing together the two communities.

He announced the appointment of a Commission official to act as his personal representative in Cyprus to follow developments on site.

"He will be answerable directly to me and will keep me abreast of developments," Juncker said.

He said the commission will be closely involved at the closing stage of the negotiations to make sure that a solution will not be in conflict with European statutes.

The eastern Mediterranean island was partitioned in 1974 when Turkey controlled its northern part, reacting to a coup engineered by officers of the military junta which ruled Greece at the time.

The Cyprus problem has defied more than four decades of negotiations but hopes for a solution received a boost when Turkish Cypriots elected moderate politician Mustafa Akinci as their leader in a vote last April.

Akinci has said a Cyprus solution will be in line with the European Acquis -- the common rights and obligations binding together all European countries and citizens.

The Turkish side had up to now strongly resisted any involvement of EU in efforts to solve the problem and demanded permanent deviations from the European Acquis.

Junker met separately with Anastasiades and Akinci.

Later he had a lunch with the two leaders at a restaurant on the Green Line separating the Greek and Turkish Cypriot regions of Nicosia, which often serves as a neutral ground for similar events.

Junker told journalists after the lunch that the community leaders can solve the Cyprus problem. "It won't be an easy process, but it can be done in a win-win way for both sides, which will also benefit Europe."

The Cyprus problem has led to the suspension of Turkey's accession negotiations with EU as most of its negotiating chapters have been put on ice either directly by Cyprus or by the Commission because of Turkey's refusal to implement obligations pertaining to Cyprus.

Turkey does not recognize the existence of Cyprus as a state. It recognizes instead a breakaway so-called state which it supports financially and militarily.

Juncker announced that after difficult talks with the two leaders they reached an agreement for the registration of a local white cheese as a product of protected designation of origin.

The agreement means that the cheese, known as "haloumi" in Greek and "helim" in Turkish will be protected by EU rules and can be prepared only in Cyprus.

Juncker is scheduled to address the Cypriot House of Representatives on Friday morning but he will be faced with a protest rally outside parliament.

The rally has been called for by a left-wing platform of trade unions and organizations opposed to austerity measures imposed on both Cyprus and Greece as part of their bailout programs. Endit