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Roundup: Cyprus negotiations to restart on June 8: communities' leaders

Xinhua, June 2, 2016 Adjust font size:

Negotiations aimed at reaching a solution to the long standing Cyprus problem are to resume on June 8, after having been suspended due to a protocol faux pas last week, the Cypriot communities' leaders said on Thursday.

The resumption of the negotiations was made by President Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci after they jointly attended an educational event attended by 100 schoolchildren from both sides.

Anastasiades suspended meetings with Akinci on May 23 after Akinci was invited to attend a dinner for world leaders taking part in the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, a move he said would amount to recognizing him as his equal counterpart and as leader of a legitimate country.

Cypriot government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said in a written statement last Friday that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called President Anastasiades telling him that the UN recognizes only the Cyprus Republic and its government under Anastasiades.

"The Secretary-General told the President that the United Nations policy on Cyprus has not changed, including the fact that the Republic of Cyprus is the Member State of the UN," Christodoulides said.

He added that following the clarifications offered by Ban Ki-moon Anastasiades is ready to continue and intensify the dialogue, provided that there will be mutual respect between the interlocutors.

Akinci leads a breakaway region set up by Turkey in the part of Cyprus it occupied in 1974, in reaction to a coup by the military rulers of Greece at the time.

Anastasiades and Akinci added a sense of urgency in their announcement, saying that they plan to expedite their negotiations, which are brokered by the United Nations, so as to reach an agreement by the end of this year if they manage to bridge remaining differences.

These include not only the future of properties left behind by Greek Cypriots who were forced out of their homes, but also power sharing and the withdrawal of an estimated 45,000 Turkish soldiers from the eastern Mediterranean island.

Turkey recently announced the "temporary" withdrawal of an unspecified number of soldiers saying they were needed to face increased military action by Kurdish fighters seeking a separate state in the southeastern part of the country.

"Let us work together at an even faster pace and with mutual respect to reunify Cyprus and create a peaceful place for the children," said Anastasiades.

Akinci concurred saying that their joint aim is "to create a united federal Cyprus by the end of 2016". Endit