Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot leaders met on Thursday in the buffer zone in Lefkosa to find a comprehensive settlement to Cyprus problem, Anadolu News Agenc reported.
President Dervis Eroglu of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and Greek Cypriot leader Demetris Christofias came together at United Nations (UN) Secretary General's Special Representative in Cyprus Lisa Buttenheim's residence in the buffer zone.
Envoys of the two leaders debated the European Union (EU) and economy issues in their last meeting on Tuesday.
On February 9, Eroglu had said that leaders would meet once a week and their envoys twice a week from now on.
Last week's meeting was the first one between Eroglu and Christofias after the two had a trilateral meeting with United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in Geneva, Switzerland on January 26.
Eroglu and Christofias discussed the issues taken up in Geneva and some other issues concerning the two parties in February 9th meeting.
Talks, which aim to find a solution to Cyprus problem, began in September of 2008. Ban, Eroglu and Christofias had held another tripartite meeting in New York on November 18, 2010.
Gaining independence from the United Kingdom in 1960, Cyprus became a bi-communal Republic where Greek and Turkish Cypriot constituent communities would share power guaranteed by the UK, Turkey and Greece.
However, Greek Cypriots soon expelled Turkish Cypriots from power and terrorised and ghettoised them. Decades long armed attacks on the defenseless Turkish Cypriots culminated in 1974 when an Athens-backed Greek Cypriot military coup on the island led to Turkey's intervention based on its rights stemming from the Treaty of Guarantee.
Although the Republic of Cyprus as described in the 1959 agreements is no longer there, Greek Cypriots continue to enjoy this title and international recognition while the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, a fully democratic government representing Turkish Cypriots, still suffers under an unfair political and economic blockade.
Cyprus joined the EU as a divided island when Greek Cypriots in the south rejected the UN reunification plan in twin referendums in 2004 even though the Turkish Cypriots in the north overwhelmingly supported it.
The promise made by EU foreign ministers before the referendums to end the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots and establish direct trade with north Cyprus remains unfulfilled.
TRNC is an independent republic located in the north of Cyprus. TRNC has received diplomatic recognition from Turkey and it has representations in dozens of countries across the globe.