Confidence Building Measures for the Cyprus dispute

With talks on reuniting the island apparently faltering, Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades will present his plan for a settlement to party leaders on Monday, according to Cypriot Government Spokesman Nikos Christodoulides.

The Cyprus peace talks appeared to be at a standstill on Thursday after separate meetings held by United Nations special envoy Espen Barthe Eide with Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish-Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci apparently failed to make any substantial progress.

The future of peace negotiations between rival ethnic leaders on Cyprus could depend on two separate meetings that Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish-Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci will have on Thursday with the United Nations special envoy, Espen Barth Eide.

Talks aimed at reunifying ethnically divided Cyprus are at risk of collapse because of a possible "international crisis," a United Nations envoy said Thursday, amid tensions over oil and gas exploration off the east Mediterranean island.

The leaders of Cyprus's estranged Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities met on Thursday against the backdrop of Ankara's plans to start seismic research on Friday in the bay of Famagusta, fueling concern it could expand its activities within the island's exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Anastasiades will meet with the leader of the northern Cypriot community Mustafa Akinci on Thursday afternoon at the Lefkosia airport. The issue on the agenda of talks are expected to include the EU, governance and the economy. Two men are meeting in the framework of negotiations for the resolution of the Cypriot problem.

Greek and Turkish Cypriots have reached a critical juncture in negotiations to end the decades-old division of their island and only a small number of issues remain to be resolved, the United Nations envoy for Cyprus said on Thursday.

"We are at a crossroads," UN envoy Espen Barthe Eide told Reuters in an interview.

Leaders of the divided island of Cyprus have agreed to resume peace talks on April 11, the United Nations said on Tuesday, following a two-month interruption after historical grievances boiled to the surface.

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish-Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci say that more work is needed to lay the groundwork for the resumption of stalled reunification talks.

In a joint statement on Sunday, the two men said that United Nations Envoy Espen Barth Eide would continue contacts with them both in order to get negotiations back on track.

The leaders of Cyprus's estranged Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities will meet over dinner next Sunday in a first encounter of the two since peace talks were abruptly interrupted in February, the United Nations said on Monday.