Antonio Guterres said not enough common ground was found to allow for the resumption of formal negotiations. Reuters
Antonio Guterres said not enough common ground was found to allow for the resumption of formal negotiations. Reuters
Antonio Guterres said not enough common ground was found to allow for the resumption of formal negotiations. Reuters
Antonio Guterres said not enough common ground was found to allow for the resumption of formal negotiations. Reuters

Cyprus settlement talks fall flat as common ground hard to find


Jamie Prentis
  • English
  • Arabic

Cyprus's rival leaders failed to find sufficient common ground to resume formal peace negotiations, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said after hosting three days of talks in Geneva.

The Turkish and Greek-Cypriot administrations fundamentally disagree on a lasting solution for the divided island, 47 years after it split.

"We have not yet found enough common ground to allow for the resumption of formal negotiations in relation to the settlement of the Cyprus problem," Mr Guterres said.

"But I do not give up. My agenda is strictly to fight for the security and wellbeing of the Cypriots – of the Greek-Cypriots and the Turkish-Cypriots – that deserve to live in peace and prosperity together."

The talks were attended by Greek-Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades, Turkish-Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, and the foreign ministers of Greece, Turkey and Britain – the three guarantors of the island's 1960 independence.

Mr Guterres said the Turkish-Cypriot side, whose breakaway administration is recognised only by Turkey, continues to support a two-state solution. In comparison, the internationally recognised Greek-Cypriot government wants a federal system with political equity.

"Nobody should expect us to be patched onto a unitary, single state. We are negotiating for a two-state solution," Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar said.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the Greek Cypriot side had brought no new proposals to Geneva and had sounded "like a broken record".

He said there was "no common ground to restart negotiations", but added that Turkey would support unofficial meetings that sought to find a way through the impasse.

"There must be a new negotiations process between two states rather than two communities," Mr Cavusoglu said.

Mr Anastasiades said the Greek Cypriot side would continue to work to find a solution to reunite Cyprus based on a bi-zonal federation.

Mr Guterres said all parties would meet again in the next two or three months "with the objective to move in the direction of reaching common ground to allow for formal negotiations to start".

"We are determined to do everything we can to make this dialogue move on and to make this dialogue ... reach positive results."

Britain's Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said he welcomed the "commitment by all sides to meet again in the near future".

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey occupied the northern third in response to a coup orchestrated by an Athens-backed junta seeking to annex the island to Greece.

The years Ramadan fell in May

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1970

October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar. 

December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.

1971

March 1:  Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.

July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.

July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.

August 6:  The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.

August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.

September 3: Qatar becomes independent.

November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.

November 29:  At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.

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November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties

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December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.

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