Rival Cypriot leaders at a make- or-break summit in Switzerland this week will come under pressure to seal an elusive peace deal for their divided island or face the consequences.
Rival Cypriot leaders at a make- or-break summit in Switzerland this week will come under pressure to seal an elusive peace deal for their divided island or face the consequences.
"We are looking for a final settlement... We expect both parties to come with determination, will and leadership for a final settlement," a UN spokesperson told AFP.
"We are expecting all parties to come to the table and settle this once and for all, including Greece, Turkey and Britain," the three so-called guarantor powers of the former British colony.
President Nicos Anastasiades, the Greek Cypriot leader, and his Turkish Cypriot counterpart Mustafa Akinci are to resume the UN-led reunification talks on Wednesday in the Alpine ski resort of Crans-Montana.
The conference is expected to run for at least 10 days, according to officials. Apart from the guarantor powers, a representative of the European Union will attend as an observer.
It has yet to be confirmed if UN chief Antonio Guterres will take part.
UN-backed Cyprus peace talks held in Geneva in January failed to make any headway.
The eastern Mediterranean island has been divided since 1974 when Turkish troops invaded its northern third in response to an Athens-inspired coup seeking union with Greece.
Turkey maintains around 35,000 troops in northern Cyprus.
The Cyprus talks moved to Switzerland after negotiations on the island hit a dead end more than two years into the UN- brokered process.
Top of the agenda is a new security arrangement for a post-settlement federal Cyprus. This would involve the guarantor powers, which retain the right of military intervention.
Unlocking security would allow Anastasiades, who heads the island's internationally recognised government, and Akinci to make concessions on other core issues.
But major differences remain over a new security blueprint.
The Greek Cypriot side seeks an agreement in Switzerland on the Turkish military presence, while the Turkish Cypriots want the conference to focus on broader issues of power- sharing, property rights and territory.
Anastasiades's government, backed by Athens, is pressing to abolish the intervention rights and for Turkish troops to withdraw from the island on a specific timeline.
On the other side, the Turkish Cypriots and Ankara will argue to retain some form of intervention rights and a reduced number of troops remaining in the north.
A diplomatic source told
(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
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