The United Kingdom remains committed, as a guarantor power, to supporting the process of the Cyprus talks, a spokesperson of the Foreign Office has told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA), expressing hope that the meeting of the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, with Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci that will take place in Berlin on November 25, will pave the way for the resumption of the talks.

Replying to a question by CNA about the meeting in Berlin as well as the informal five-party meeting that is expected to take place in December with the participation of the three guarantor powers, namely Greece, Turkey and the UK, the Foreign Office spokesperson noted that  “the UK welcomes the prospect of a meeting between the UN Secretary General and the leaders of both communities.”

“We hope that the meeting will pave the way for the resumption of talks aimed at achieving a comprehensive settlement on the Cyprus issue. As a guarantor power, the UK remains committed to supporting this process,” he concluded.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied its northern third.  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.

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