UN adviser to hold joint meeting with Cyprus leaders on Sept 17

The newly appointed United Nations special adviser on Cyprus, Espen Barth Eide (photo), will hold a joint meeting with Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish-Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu in Nicosia on September 17.

Eide revealed that the meeting would take place after holding separate talks with the two men on Friday.

The Norwegian said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon wants to see reunification talks progress.

However, the UN’s goal of helping Greek and Turkish Cypriots form a bizonal, bicommunal federation suffered a blow last week when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan insisted that the only solution is for the island to be split into two states.

Eide, however, tried to remain upbeat by saying that the September 17 meeting would be a sign of progress and would signal that “we have entered a new phase.”

He did not rule out the possibility that Ban might also hold a joint meeting with Anastasiades and Eroglu in New York in the near future.