The leaders of the two communities in Cyprus, President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci, are at the Ledra Palace hotel, in the UN-controlled buffer zone, where UN Secretary General`s Special Advisor on Cyprus Espen Barth Eide is hosting a dinner for them in an effort to help resume the stalled peace talks.
The two leaders entered the venue from different entrances.
In the meantime, before the two leaders arrived at Ledra Palace, supporters of a solution had gathered outside the hotel to press on with their demand for a political settlement.
At around 19.00 Eide talked to them and they asked to meet the leaders briefly to hand over a petition.
Eide thanked them for their support in the peace effort and said he would convey their message to the two leaders.
The pro solution rally is backed by the Bicommunal Initiative for Peace – United Cyprus and the initiative “Famagusta – our Town”, and their members are holding banners in Greek and Turkish advocating a solution.
One other banner said “Solution now – 1963 – 1974 – 2017 . Enough – solution now”
Eide, on the occasion of the dinner, wrote on his twitter account: “Looking forward to hosting @AnastasiadesCY & @MustafaAkinci_1 for dinner at Ledra Palace Hotel in #Nicosia tonight. #CyprusTalks”.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. UN-backed efforts to reunify the island under a federal roof were suspended when Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci walked out of a meeting in mid February, claiming that a House decision to commemorate, briefly, in school a 1950 referendum advocating union with Greece was in fact a shift in the long standing position of the Greek Cypriot side for a bicommunal, bizonal federal solution in Cyprus.
President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades has described the decision “wrong”, saying the timing was not right. Akinci said he would not return to the negotiations unless the decision is revoked. The House is set to vote on an amendment on the bill, which essentially annuls the earlier House decision, on Friday 7 April.
