Cyprus peace process

The two leaders of the eastern Mediterranean island Cyprus will resume United Nations-brokered peace talks in Geneva on Jan. 9 amid suggestions by the new U.N. chief the meeting represents a "historic opportunity" to end a decades-long conflict on the island even though the outcome is far from certain. 

The Cyprus talks are expected to restart next week in Geneva. The Greek Cyprus administration is like a reluctant seller. 

It is a full member of the European Union, representing the entire island as if northern Cyprus has not existed for 42 years and as if the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) has not existed for 33 years.

The new Cyprus rendezvous in Geneva is in a few days and the sides are undertaking their last preparations for what is claimed to be a make-or-break session.

The parties to the Cyprus dispute have not been able to proceed on four negotiation topics on the issue, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said, adding that the Greek Cypriots had focused on guarantees and security issues, instead of discussing topics on other chapters, before a new round of talks are set to start in Geneva on Jan. 9.

The Turkish Cypriot leadership is engaging in intense consultations in Ankara to flesh out a joint position before Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akıncı and President Nicos Anastasiades present their respective maps for a settlement in Cyprus. 

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades on Saturday urged Turkey to live up to its responsibilities and help to reunify the divided island when crucial peace talks resume next month in Switzerland.

Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci are to hold talks in Geneva from January 9 after negotiations broke down last month.

A senior United Nations official says ethnically-split Cyprus has a "historic opportunity" to reunite in 2017 and a meeting in Geneva in early January will be crucial for a peace deal that has eluded the island for decades.

Eighteen months of intensive talks between the estranged Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities will culminate at meetings in Geneva starting on Jan. 8.

The delegation of Greek diplomats that was in Ankara this week for talks to lay the groundwork for a possible bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ahead of a summit in Geneva on January 12 about Cyprus have reportedly made little headway.

Nicosia insisted on Tuesday that the Republic of Cyprus will not be dissolved to make way for a federation with constituent Greek and Turkish states, and that the multilateral summit in Geneva, slated for January 12, that will seek to seal a reunification deal must include the participation of the permanent members of the UN Security Council to ensure its successful outcome.

Turkish and Greek Cypriots marched together Dec. 14 to urge their leaders on the island to reach agreement at a make-or-break reunification summit in Switzerland next month.