Cyprus leaders begin UN-peace talks in Switzerland

Rival leaders of Cyprus have started a fresh round of talks aimed at reunifying the ethnically-divided Mediterranean resort island and bringing a four-decade dispute there to an end.

Five days of peace negotiations started on Monday with the presence of Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades and his Turkish Cypriot counterpart Mustafa Akinci in the Swiss resort of Mont Pelerin.

The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is also taking part in the opening session.

As the negotiations opened, Ban told reporters that “the prospect of a solution in Cyprus is within their reach.”

The reunification talks resumed in May last year after the last major round of peace negotiations collapsed in 2004, when Greek Cypriots dismissed a proposal worked out by then-UN chief Kofi Annan.

The island country has been divided since 1974 into a breakaway Turkish-speaking north and an internationally-recognized Greek-speaking south following an intervention by Turkey, which came when a military coup was carried out by individuals who sought to unify the island with Greece.

Almost one decade later, Turkish Cypriots declared an independent state, which has only been recognized by Ankara.

Akinci, the leader of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday. The two reiterated that they were determined to reach a peaceful solution in Switzerland.

Anastasiades also urged both sides last week to “seize the opportunity,” calling for “progress on territory which allows us to lead to a final settlement.”

He said, in order to make progress in talks, both sides need to produce maps showing how much territory will fall in the administrative zone of each federal state.

Akinci, for his part suggested all citizens could live where they choose in a reunified island.

He however, said only a fifth of Greek Cypriots, who are choosing to live in the Turkish Cypriot territory would be granted voting rights.

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