BREAKING NEWS

UN's Ban to call new Cyprus meeting in January

By REUTERS

NOVEMBER 1, 2011 06:32

NEW YORK - The United Nations will call a new summit between leaders of ethnically split Cyprus in January to prod flagging peace talks after a two-day meeting failed to score a substantial breakthrough, a source close to talks said on Monday.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who oversaw a large part of negotiations in Long Island on Sunday and Monday, was expected on Tuesday to announce a new meeting in mid-January to assess progress, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The United Nations has been trying for years to reunite Cyprus, the Mediterranean island split between its Greek and Turkish Cypriot populations in 1974 after a brief Greek inspired coup. The present round of peace talks started in 2008.

Although the sides agree in principle to unite Cyprus under a federal umbrella, there are deep disputes on how to co-govern, territorial adjustments between two future constituent states and the property claims of thousands of internally displaced people.

Sources say of particular difficulty were different interpretations of executive rule. Greek Cypriots have proposed rotating presidency under a cross and weighted voting system, while Turkish Cypriots advocate rotating presidency with a separate ballot for each ethnic group.

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