Kerry visits divided Cyprus in bid to boost peace talks

AFP, NICOSIA: US Secretary of State John Kerry visits Cyprus on Thursday in a bid to boost intensified peace talks to reunify the long-divided Mediterranean island. Hopes have grown for a peace deal to reunite the island since leaders in the Greek Cypriot south and Turkish Cypriot north resumed negotiations in May. “They have made considerable progress,” a state department official said ahead of the visit. “This is something that we have strongly supported, seeking to reunify the island as a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation,” he said. Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci and Greek Cypriot counterpart Nicos Anastasiades embarked on a new round of peace talks after Akinci won elections in April.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied its northern third in response to an Athens-inspired coup seeking union with Greece. A UN-controlled buffer zone—the “Green Line”—runs across the island and through Nicosia, Europe’s last divided capital, separating the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) from the Republic of Cyprus.

Kerry visits divided Cyprus in bid to boost peace talks

AFP, NICOSIA: US Secretary of State John Kerry visits Cyprus on Thursday in a bid to boost intensified peace talks to reunify the long-divided Mediterranean island. Hopes have grown for a peace deal to reunite the island since leaders in the Greek Cypriot south and Turkish Cypriot north resumed negotiations in May. They have made considerable progress, a state department official said ahead of the visit. This is something that we have strongly supported, seeking to reunify the island as a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation, he said. Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci and Greek Cypriot counterpart Nicos Anastasiades embarked on a new round of peace talks after Akinci won elections in April. Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied its northern third in response to an Athens-inspired coup seeking union with Greece. A UN-controlled buffer zonethe Green Lineruns across the island and through Nicosia, Europes last divided capital, separating the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) from the Republic of Cyprus.