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UN chief to meet both leaders of divided Cyprus in Brussels on Friday

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After strong presentations by the Turkish side earlier in the week, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will also meet with Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar in Brussels on Friday.

The UN chief was only scheduled to meet with Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades on the sidelines of an EU summit.

The meeting was arranged after Tatar asked for one through Guterres’ special envoy on Cyprus, Jane Holl Lute, on Tuesday, during talks in Nicosia.

Insiders told Philenews Guterres does not wish to  hear again the positions of the two sides but wants to find ways to set a new date for a Cyprus conference in the Fall.

And that during his meetings in Brussels, the UN chief will most probably raise the possibility that all concerned parties in the Cyprus problem should come together in New York in September.

Cyprus is divided since 1974 following an invasion by Turkey which still maintains troops in the breakaway northern part. UN-brokered reunification efforts throughout the years have yielded no results.

The Turkish side now demands a different base of negotiations, away from UN resolutions and other high-level agreements – something unacceptably for Nicosia, the UN and the EU where Cyprus is a member.

Meanwhile, Nicosia announced on Wednesday Anastasiades will discuss with Guterres the whole spectrum of the Cyprus issue and will put forth again the positions of the Greek Cypriot side.

Tatar reportedly had said that if Guterres was meeting Anastasiades, he should also, arguing that the UN should observe the principle of equality.

The Turkish Cypriot leader will be escorted to Brussels by the whole Turkish Cypriot negotiating team, reports also said.

Lute was on the island trying to find common ground for the continuation of the Cyprus problem process after an informal unsuccessful conference held in Geneva last April.

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