Greek, Turkish Cypriot leaders meet to prepare peace negotiations
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Cyprus's rival Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders are meeting in Nicosia to lay the groundwork for historic negotiations on reunifying the ethnically divided island.
Cyprus President Dimitris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat were holding talks Tuesday inside the UN-patrolled buffer zone that has separated their communities for more than three decades.
Cypriot government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou said Monday that the two would review progress by experts who have been meeting since April to prepare for the direct talks between Christofias and Talat.
Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded after an Athens-backed coup aimed at union with Greece.