Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akıncı on Monday met with UNSG Antonio Guterres at the UN headquarters in New York with whom he exchanged views on prospects for renewed Cyprus talks.

A readout of the Secretary-General’s meeting with Akinci, which lasted approximately half an hour, says that the Secretary-General “met with H. E. Mr. Mustafa Akıncı, the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community. The Secretary-General and Mr. Akıncı exchanged views regarding the prospects for renewed talks on the Cyprus issue”.

SG met also with Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades last Friday, on the sidelines of the General Assembly.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied 37% of its territory. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The last round of negotiations, in the summer of 2017, at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.