The meeting between Cyprus President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu scheduled to take place on Friday, in the framework of direct negotiations for the Cyprus problem, has been postponed, at the request of the Greek Cypriot negotiating team.

In a written statement, UNFICYP Spokesperson said that “at the request of the Greek Cypriot negotiating team, tomorrow’s leaders meeting has been postponed” He went on to say that “the United Nations and the Turkish Cypriot negotiating team have agreed to this request.”

The meeting will be rescheduled for after the two-week break, the statement concluded.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. UN-led negotiations began in 2008 between the leaders of the two communities in Cyprus, in an effort to reunify the island under a federal roof.

President Christofias and Eroglu met with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon in Geneva, on July 7th, and according to Ban`s statement after the meeting, they agreed to enter into an intensive period of negotiations on the core issues of the Cyprus problem, with an aim of achieving convergences before meeting again in New York, next October.