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UN's Ban to mediate between Turkish and Greek Cyprus leaders

Other News Materials 30 October 2010 21:54 (UTC +04:00)
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has invited the Turkish and Greek leaders of Cyprus to New York for talks after negotiations to reunify the divided Mediterranean island restarted, the UN said Saturday.
UN's Ban to mediate between Turkish and Greek Cyprus leaders

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has invited the Turkish and Greek leaders of Cyprus to New York for talks after negotiations to reunify the divided Mediterranean island restarted, the UN said Saturday.

The meeting is scheduled to take place on November 18th at the UN's headquarters, dpa reported.

Cyprus has been divided into an internationally recognised Greek Cypriot south and a breakaway Turkish Cypriot north since 1974, after Turkey invaded in response to a Greek-inspired coup.

The most recent talks on reunification, between the leader of the Greek half of the island, Dimitris Christofias, and his Turkish counterpart, Mehmet Ali Talat, began in September.

A key issue at stake is reportedly how much power the Turkish half would have in a federal Cyprus.

Cyprus has been a member of the European Union since 2004, though its rules and regulations only apply to the Greek half. Only Turkey recognizes the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

 The dispute between the two sides has been a key stumbling block for Turkey's EU accession talks.

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