Zypern

The European Union will "never ever" accept the agreement on the establishment of two states in ethnically divided Cyprus. This was stated today by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. The President of the EC, who is visiting Cyprus, stated that the European Union is unanimous on the issue of that conflict, which has lasted for decades and represents a key obstacle in Turkey's ambitions to join the European bloc, reports the AP agency.

Preliminary UN talks on Cypriot reunification have broken up with the two sides further apart than before they began.

A fresh United Nations-led bid to seek to resolve decades of tensions in Cyprus began in Geneva on Tuesday, with Secretary-General António Guterres “realistic” about the chances of making progress, his Spokesperson said.

The Security Council, acting through its temporary silence procedure amid the ongoing COVID‑19 pandemic, decided today to extend the mandate of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) for a further period ending on 31 July 2021.

[…] Although the situation in and around the buffer zone continued on the whole to be calm and military-level tensions were generally low, political tensions increased significantly, linked to the broader political and regional context.

North Cyprus President Ersin Tatar reiterated support for a two-state solution as the island’s two leaders agreed to participate in an informal summit during talks with UN envoy Jane Holl Lute Tuesday.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appeared to throw into doubt a new bid to restart dormant Cyprus reunification talks, saying Sunday that a two-state deal rather than the long-established federal formula is the way forward.

The leaders of the divided island of Cyprus have met in the capital Nicosia, in an  encounter convened by the United Nations, the Secretary-General’s Good Offices Mission in Cyprus said on Tuesday. The meeting is the first between the Greek Cypriot leader, Nicos Anastasiades, and the Turkish Cypriot leader, Ersin Tatar, since the latter assumed his post following elections last month.

A hardliner who favors even closer ties with Turkey and a tougher stance with rival Greek Cypriots in peace talks has defeated the leftist incumbent in the Turkish Cypriot leadership runoff Sunday.

Turkish Cypriots began voting Sunday for a leader tasked with overcoming their deep political chasms with Greek Cypriots in order to pave the way for a deal to end 46 years of ethnic division in Cyprus and quell tensions over offshore energy reserves.