U.N. chief vows to help Cyprus reunite
UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations secretary-general promised Sunday to lend his personal support to rival Cypriot leaders who are locked in complex talks aimed at reunifying the ethnically divided island nation.
Ban Ki-moon said he and the U.N. will personally do “our utmost” to assist Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and breakaway Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci resolve the decades-old problem.
Ban, who met with both leaders Sunday, called on them to “make the most” of the time ahead to overcome hurdles still impeding an accord.
A key obstacle that’s complicating negotiations is a Turkish Cypriot demand for Turkey to retain military intervention rights on the island. Greek Cypriots say intervention rights have no place in an envisioned federated Cyprus and insist such a demand would scotch any agreement.
Cyprus was divided into a Turkish-speaking north and a Greek-speaking south in 1974 when Turkey invaded after a coup that aimed to unite the island with Greece. Only Turkey recognizes a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence. Although the island joined the European Union in 2004, only the internationally recognized southern part enjoys full membership benefits.