Cyprus activists: Hunters' lead pellets threaten flamingos

February 21, 2021

LARNACA, Cyprus (AP) — Conservationists in Cyprus are urging authorities to expand a hunting ban throughout a coastal salt lake network amid concerns that migrating flamingos could potentially swallow lethal quantities of lead shotgun pellets.

Martin Hellicar, director of Birdlife Cyprus, said flamingos are at risk of ingesting the tiny pellets lying on the lakebed as they feed. Like other birds, flamingos swallow small pebbles to aid digestion, but can’t distinguish between pebbles and the lead pellets.

“Last year, we had tens of losses of flamingos,” Hellicar said. Cyprus is a key stop on the migration path for many types of birds flying from Africa to Europe. The Larnaca Salt Lake, a wetlands network of four lakes, typically welcomes as many as 15,000 flamingos from colder climates to the southern coast of the island nation in the eastern Mediterranean. They stay through the winter and leave in March. Other water fowl frequenting the lake include ducks, waders and seagulls.

Hunting is banned around most of the salt lake, but hunters are still allowed to shoot ducks in the network’s southern tip. The government's Game and Fauna Service says in the first two months of last year, 96 flamingos were found dead in the Larnaca Salt Lake wetlands as a result of lead poisoning. Cyprus Veterinary Services official Panayiotis Constantinou, who has conducted autopsies on flamingos, said lead from the pellets poisoned the birds.

The high number of deaths is mainly attributed to heavy winter rain two years ago that stirred up the lake sediment and dislodged embedded lead shot. A sport shooting range near the lake's northern tip closed nearly 18 years ago and authorities organized a clean-up of lead pellets in the lakebed there.

But Hellicar says the clean-up was apparently incomplete. A European Union-funded study is underway to identify where significant amounts of lead pellets remain so they can be removed. Preliminary results of the study showed “very high” lead levels in the wetland's southern tip and continued duck hunting there could compound the problem, Hellicar said.

“The problem is pronounced," he said. "The danger is real for the flamingos and other birds that use the area.” Cyprus Hunting Federation official Alexandros Loizides disagrees, saying that hunting in a 200-meter northern swath is not a problem due to the limited number of hunters. He said he’s unaware of any flamingo deaths in the area and faults pesticide and fertilizer runoff from nearby farms for creating any pollution problems hurting wildlife.

“I think the effect of hunting there is very small on the specific part of the lake,” said Loizides. “It’d be a shame for hunters to lose the only area where hunting is permitted near wetlands.” A ban on the use of lead pellets near wetlands has been in force in Cyprus for several years. A similar, EU-wide ban took effect last month but conservationists believe the laws are not being enforced enough.

Pantelis Hadjiyeros, head of the Game and Fauna Service, said it’s less important to ban hunting in the area than to convince hunters to stop using shells with lead pellets. “It should be drummed into people that the use of lead pellets is prohibited near wetlands and that only steel pellets are permitted,” Hadjiyeros told The Associated Press.

Cyprus locks down southwest over surge in coronavirus cases

November 11, 2020

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus put its entire southwest under a strict 19-day lockdown Wednesday, banning any non-essential movement of people and shuttering bars and restaurants after a string of escalating restrictions failed to curb a sharp increase in coronavirus infections.

Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou said the lockdown was deemed necessary after consultations with the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control because infections in the Limassol and Paphos districts jumped from 28% to 70% of the national average in the last six weeks while two-thirds of hospitalized COVID-19 patients now receiving treatment hail from there.

Ioannou said a strict 8 p.m.-5 a.m. curfew will be in effect from Thursday through Nov. 30 and movement to and from the two districts will be barred to all except for emergency medical reasons and for those working in essential services such as health workers.

All public gatherings are banned, religious services will be conducted without any worshippers, public and private high schools and colleges will conduct classes online, and non-essential government employees will work from home. Museums and archaeological sites, theaters and cinemas, shopping malls, beauty parlors and hairdressing salons, gyms, pools and casinos cannot open.

The measures mirror restrictions during a nearly three-month, island-wide lockdown that Cypriot authorities imposed at the start of the pandemic earlier this year, which officials credited with keeping infections low.

Ioannou said the uncertainty created that the eight month-old pandemic has fatigued many, but authorities are under tremendous strain to trace the large number of contacts each infected person has had.

Speaking earlier in a televised address, President Nicos Anastasiades said that he has observed the rising number of infections in recent weeks with “great anxiety” and that neither he nor his government could remain indifferent to the risk of a rising death toll.

“We are witnessing on a daily basis the tragic events unfolding in other countries. I'm sure that none of you would want to live through similar circumstances," said Anastasiades. As in other European countries, a coronavirus resurgence in the island nation of 875,000 people has alarmed authorities that the health care system could be overwhelmed. As of Wednesday, Cyprus has recorded 6,461 confirmed cases and 33 deaths.

Anastasiades pledged to counter the economic impact of the new lockdown with an additional batch of support measures.

Turkish Cypriots pick leader as stakes soar in Mediterranean

October 18, 2020

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Turkish Cypriots began voting Sunday in a leadership runoff between an incumbent who pledges a course less bound by Turkey’s dictates and a challenger who favors even closer ties to Ankara. The stakes have soared as a battle over energy rights in the eastern Mediterranean has intensified.

Veteran incumbent Mustafa Akinci, 72, is a champion of Turkish Cypriots who oppose Turkey’s complete domination of their affairs. His hard-line challenger Ersin Tatar, 60, advocates fully aligning Turkish Cypriot policies with those of Turkey, the region's patron.

The Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded after a coup by supporters of union with Greece. Only Turkey recognizes a breakaway Turkish Cypriot state in the north that is economically and militarily dependent on Ankara. The island’s internationally recognized government has its seat in the Greek Cypriot south and is part of the 27-nation European Union.

The tussle between Turkish Cypriots who seek to retain more say in how they’re governed and those who want to walk in lockstep with Turkey has been a prominent feature in past leadership races but this contest seems more polarized than ever.

Akinci has alleged that Turkey has engaged in “unprecedented” interference throughout the campaign in favor of Tatar and that he and his family have received threats to drop out of the race. “We know that things happened that shouldn't have happened," Akinci said after casting his ballot, adding that he wishes voters will look back on Sunday's election with “pride for Turkish Cypriot democracy and will."

Tatar edged out Akinci in the first round of voting by less than three percentage points but Akinci now has clinched support from the third-place candidate. Analyst Tumay Tugyan says the contest could go either way as Tatar courted a significant pool of voters from the approximately 200,000-strong electorate — especially in rural areas — who may not have voted in the first round.

Tatar urged voters to get out and beat the first round’s record-low turnout. “The important thing is to reflect our will and send out a message to the world," Tatar said after voting. A first test for the winner will be a meeting with Greek Cypriots and Cyprus’ ‘guarantors’ — Greece, Turkey and Britain — that U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is expected call soon. The aim will be to figure out if there’s enough common ground to restart dormant peace talks.

Nearly five decades of U.N. facilitated attempts at achieving reunification based on a federal framework have failed. Akinci believes that federation is the only way toward a peace accord. Tatar shares the Turkish government view that federation may not be the most viable option and alternatives such as a two-state deal should be pursued.

Tensions have soared this summer in waters off Greece and Cyprus over sea boundaries and energy exploration rights after Turkey redeployed a research vessel near the Greek island of Kastellorizo. The move cast doubts on fresh talks aimed at resolving the dispute.

Turkey insists it has every legal right to search for hydrocarbons in waters where Greece and Cyprus claim exclusive economic rights. The Greek and Cypriot governments accuse Turkey of violating international law. The dispute raised fears of a military conflict between Greece and Turkey, NATO members who are strong regional rivals.

UK F-35 fighters fly missions from Cyprus over Syria, Iraq

June 25, 2019

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Britain's most advanced military aircraft, the Lightning F-35B, has flown its first missions over Syria and Iraq as part of ongoing operations against remnants of the Islamic State group, the U.K.'s defense secretary said.

Defense Secretary Penny Mordaunt said in a statement released Tuesday that that the jets' first operational mission from a British air base in Cyprus was made following a highly successful training period.

"Their first real operational mission is a significant step into the future for the U.K.," Mordaunt said. Six F-35B aircraft from 617 Squadron flown by three British Royal Navy and three Royal Air Force pilots, arrived at RAF Akrotiri on May 21 for a six-week deployment as part of Exercise Lightning Dawn.

British military officials had said there were no plans for the aircraft to conduct combat missions during their stay at RAF Akrotiri. But it was decided that they were ready to make their operational debut as part of Operation Shader — the U.K.'s contribution to the fight against Islamic State group — because of their "exceptional performance."

Officials said the aircraft didn't fire any weapons when flying alongside Typhoon jets during the missions over Syria and Iraq. The F-35 is the first aircraft to combine radar-evading stealth technology with supersonic speeds and the ability to conduct short takeoffs and vertical landings.

The 617 Squadron jets will be deployed this autumn aboard Britain's new aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, for a battery of operational tests. The tests will be carried out off the east coast of the U.S. in preparation for the aircrafts' first carrier strike deployment planned for 2021.

The U.K. now owns 17 F-35B aircraft with plans to procure a total 138 jets. According to Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightning II Website, British industry will build 15% of the more than 3,000 jets that are planned to be built. British officials say the program has already generated orders worth $12.9 billion and at peak production will support thousands of British manufacturing and engineering jobs.

Flights to Cyprus to resume from select countries next month

May 22, 2020

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus on Friday outlined plans for the phased resumption next month of commercial flights from a select number of countries with low COVID-19 infection rates to jump-start its vital tourism sector.

Transport Minister Yiannis Karousos said flights will begin in two phases — June 9 and 20 — from two groups of countries selected by an advisory body of medical experts. The first group is comprised of Greece, Malta, Bulgaria, Norway, Austria, Finland, Slovenia, Hungary, Israel, Denmark, Germany, Slovakia and Lithuania. The second group is made up of Switzerland, Poland, Romania, Croatia, Estonia and the Czech Republic. The list excludes the country’s two main tourism markets, former colonial ruler Britain, and Russia.

Karousos said starting June 9, passengers arriving from countries in either group must obtain three days prior to departure a health certificate confirming that they are virus-free. Starting June 20, passengers from the first group of countries won’t need health certificates, but those from the second group will still be required to obtain them.

Aircraft arriving from any country not included in either group will only be permitted to carry Cypriot citizens or foreign nationals who permanently reside in Cyprus, or anyone who has been granted special permission.

These passengers will also have to obtain a health certificate three days prior to departure. They can opt to be tested in Cyprus, but will have to stay in self-isolation for one day in designated accommodation.

Passengers arriving from any other country are required to self-isolate at home for 14 days. Anyone arriving from countries that don’t have labs capable of conducting specialized tests for the virus can be tested in Cyprus.

Passengers will have to cover costs relating to testing, quarantine accommodations or transport. Karousos said hotels that have been shuttered since a strict stay-at-home order was imposed in late March, and lifted earlier this week, will open their doors on June 1.

More countries will be added to the two groups in the coming days, the minister said. Tourism officials said medical experts will assess the course of the pandemic in the U.K. and Russia before flights from those countries can begin.

Marketing its year-round sunny skies, pristine beaches and Mediterranean cuisine to entice holidaymakers, Cyprus relies heavily on tourism. The sector directly accounts for 13 percent of the east Mediterranean island nation’s gross domestic product.

Government tourism officials estimate that the country will lose 70% of the initially anticipated 2.6 billion euros ($2.83 billion) tourism-generated revenues this year. Authorities are eager to get hotels and other businesses up and running to keep unemployment numbers from spiking and to buttress a still fragile economic recovery from a 2013 financial crisis that almost bankrupted the country.

But health officials insist that the resumption of flights and the arrival of foreign travelers won’t be allowed to jeopardize Cyprus’ so-far successful handling of the pandemic. To date, Cyprus — with a population of around 880,000 — has reported 927 confirmed coronavirus infections and 17 deaths.

Greece, Israel, Cyprus sign deal for EastMed gas pipeline

January 02, 2020

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece, Israel and Cyprus signed a deal Thursday to build an undersea pipeline to carry gas from new offshore deposits in the southeastern Mediterranean to continental Europe. The 1,900-kilometer (1,300-mile) EastMed pipeline is intended to provide an alternative gas source for energy-hungry Europe, which is largely dependent on supplies from Russia and the Caucasus region.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who attended the signing ceremony with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, said the pipeline will offer Europe “better flexibility and independence in its energy sources.”

The pipeline would run from Israel’s Levantine Basin offshore gas reserves to Cyprus, the Greek island of Crete and the Greek mainland. An overland pipeline to northwestern Greece and another planned undersea pipeline would carry the gas to Italy.

The project could also accommodate future gas finds in waters off Cyprus and Greece, where exploration is under way. The project, with a rough budget of $6 billion, is expected to satisfy about 10% of the European Union's natural gas needs. But it is fraught with political and logistical complexities.

The race to claim offshore energy deposits in the southern Mediterranean has created new tensions between Greece and Cyprus, on one side, and historic rival Turkey. Ankara has raised the stakes with recent moves to explore waters controlled by the two EU member countries. Cyprus and Greece are particularly disturbed because Turkey sent warship-escorted drill ships into waters where Cyprus has exclusive economic rights.

Cyprus' Anastasiades said the pipeline affirms that Greece and Cyprus have sovereign rights in waters assigned to them under international law. “This cooperation that we have developed ... isn’t directed against any third country,” he said. “On the contrary, whichever country wishes is welcome to join, on the understanding of course that it adopts the basic principles of international law and fully respects the sovereign rights and the territorial integrity of independent states.”

Alluding to Turkey's stance, Anastasiades said cooperation is the only approach in an unstable region instead of embarking on a course of “self-isolation.” Netanyahu said Israel is set to become a “powerhouse in terms of energy” with its offshore gas reserves. He added that the three countries have established ”an alliance of great importance" that will bolster regional stability.

Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz has said the EastMed pipeline would take up to seven years to build and that its advantages include being less vulnerable to sabotage and not crossing many national borders to reach markets.

Cyprus is divided into a Greek Cypriot south, where the island nation's internationally recognized government is located, and a breakaway Turkish Cypriot north backed by Turkey. The split followed a 1974 Turkish invasion after an aborted coup aiming to bring Cyprus under Greek rule.

Turkey doesn't recognize Cyprus as a state and claims much of Cyprus' exclusive economic zone as falling within its own continental shelf. Turkey is also laying claim to large tracts under Greek control in the Aegean Sea and off Crete. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said no project can proceed without his country's consent following a maritime border agreement that Ankara signed with the Libya's Tripoli-based government.

The Cypriot government has licensed Italian energy company Eni, France's Total, ExxonMobil and Texas-based Noble Energy to carry out exploratory hydrocarbons drilling in the country's offshore economic zone.

Hadjicostis contributed from Nicosia, Cyprus.

Endangered Green, Loggerhead turtles make comeback in Cyprus

August 16, 2018

LARA BEACH, Cyprus (AP) — For these ancient reptiles, a stretch of beach on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus has been their home for thousands of years. Against the setting sun, the tiny turtles that have just hatched on Lara Beach strain against the surf to reach the Mediterranean Sea and embark on their life's journey.

And in 20 to 30 years, they'll be back at this exact location to lay their own eggs. After being hunted to near extinction in the first half of the last century, the Mediterranean's endangered Loggerhead and Green turtles are making a comeback thanks to pioneering conservation efforts, Cypriot marine biologists say.

When those efforts began in 1978, there were just 300 turtle nests on the island's beaches where the reptiles return to lay their eggs. The population has grown to around 1,100 nests last year, said Andreas Demetropoulos, the founder and co-head of a turtle conservation program under the island-nation's Fisheries and Marine Research Department.

That may not sound a lot, but with the turtles' reproductive cycles stretching out as long as three decades, the results are "quite spectacular," said Demetropoulos. This increase is especially encouraging for the Green turtle, which lays its eggs in only two countries — Turkey and European Union member Cyprus. There are only about 1,500 female Green turtles that lay eggs in those two countries, as opposed to 6,000 female Loggerhead — or Careta Careta — turtles that lay eggs across the Mediterranean.

According to marine biologist and conservation program co-head Myroula Hadjichristophorou, Cyprus has 200-300 Green turtles who lay eggs while the number for Loggerheads is more than double that. Cyprus instituted its conservation program long before any other EU member and that has paid dividends, said Hadjichristoforou. Efforts include guarding against the turtles' main predator — foxes — and passing crucial legislation in 1989 that allowed conservationists to protect two key beaches in the island's west and northwest, keeping curious locals and tourists at bay.

Before this, residents would camp on the beach and fire up barbecues with little concern for the turtles. But over time, Hadjichristophorou says the region has built up a conservationist culture — from schoolkids to adults — so that folks who spot something like an injured turtle notify the authorities immediately.

Turtles have been around for 200 million years on Earth but have called the Mediterranean home only for about 10,000 years, said Hadjichristophorou. Remarkably, the turtles' own ingrained "biological GPS" brings them back to lay their eggs to the same beaches that their ancestors chose thousands of years ago.

"When people come here with their families, their children, they see the babies coming out of their nests, this is something that they will never forget," said Hadjichristophorou.

Cyprus president re-elected, defeats same opponent again

February 04, 2018

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades vowed to push on with attempts to reunify the ethnically divided island nation and to improve the economic fortunes of its people after he was re-elected by a wide margin Sunday.

Anastasiades defeated left-leaning independent challenger Stavros Malas in a runoff election. Anastasiades received 56 percent of the vote, compared to 44 percent for Malas, in the final returns. Malas telephoned Anastasiades to concede defeat about an hour after polls closed, when half of the ballots had been counted and Malas trailed badly.

Speaking to supporters, Malas said he told Anastasiades to "take care of our Cyprus." It's the second consecutive time that Anastasiades, 71, a conservative veteran politician, won a head-to-head contest with Malas, 50, for the presidency.

"Tomorrow, a new day, a new era dawns, where people demand cooperation from all of us," Anastasiades told throngs of jubilant supporters at his campaign headquarters. Malas campaigned as the candidate who would bring change to a tired political system that short-changes ordinary Cypriots, who have seen salaries and benefits slashed in the wake of the national economy's near-meltdown.

But voters appeared to heed the incumbent's campaign message, which blamed the left-wing economic policies of previous administrations for bringing Cyprus close to bankruptcy. Malas also struggled to separate himself from the party that supported him, the communist-rooted AKEL. Anastasiades accused AKEL of crushing the economy during the presidency of former leader Demetris Christofias.

"I know that the result has disappointed you, but we must respect it, and above all else for all of us to recognize that this was a worthy battle that neither begins nor ends with an election," Malas told his backers.

Cyprus was split into an internationally recognized Greek Cypriot south and a breakaway Turkish Cypriot north in 1974 when Turkey invaded after a coup by supporters of union with Greece. Only Turkey recognizes a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence and keeps more than 35,000 troops in the north.

Voters remain skeptical about whether a reunification deal can be reached any time soon. The latest round of talks at a Swiss resort in July collapsed amid finger-pointing about who was responsible for the failure.

To buoy public hopes, Anastasiades said he would reach out to Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci to try and resuscitate their negotiations. "I call on all Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots to understand the current state of affairs can be a solution to the Cyprus problem," he said.

Anastasiades repeated that he would seek a peace deal that doesn't include Turkey's demands for a permanent troop presence and the right to intervene militarily in a federated Cyprus. One of the president's first orders of business will be to oversee ongoing exploratory drilling for gas off the island's southern coast — an enterprise that could help the economy but also complicate efforts to heal Cyprus' ethnic divide.

Italian energy company ENI is currently drilling an exploratory well and Cypriot Energy Minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis said indications of another find are "very encouraging." The hydrocarbon search undergirds alliances Cyprus has forged with Egypt and Israel, which have located their own sizeable offshore gas reserves.

The exploration has raised the ire of Turkey, which has characterized the work as an attempt to cheat Turkish Cypriots. Results showed that 74 percent of eligible voters cast ballots Sunday, slightly more than the first round of voting last week, but 7 percent less than in the 2013 election.

Anastasiades has said a second term would be his last.

Turkish Cypriots vote PM's party, set for coalition

2018-01-08

NICOSIA - The party of the prime minister of northern Cyprus, a statelet recognized only by Turkey, has won parliamentary elections but will need to form a coalition after falling short of a majority, results showed Monday.

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), established in the wake of Turkey's 1974 invasion of the island in response to an Athens-backed coup, voted Sunday in snap polls forced by tensions in the previous coalition.

The vote comes ahead of presidential polls later this month in the internationally recognized Greek-majority Republic of Cyprus, with peace efforts on hold until both sets of elections are over.

The National Unity Party (UBP) of prime minister Huseyin Ozgurgun came out on top with 36 percent of the vote, ahead of the socialist Republican Turkish Party (CTP) at 21 percent, Turkish Cypriot media reports said, based on an unofficial near complete count.

Projections show that this should give the UBP 21 seats, short of the 26 seats needed for a majority in the 50-member house.

Final results are due late Monday or early Tuesday. More than 190,500 people were registered to vote.

"The UBP has emerged has the biggest party by a wide margin," said Ozgurgun in a victory speech early Monday. "We are preparing for new days with the power the people have given to the UBP."

A coalition with the CTP -- whose vote plunged in these polls -- is unlikely and the UBP may team up with smaller parties like the Democrat Party (DP) and the Rebirth Party (YDP) to muster the seats.

Unlike the socialist CTP, these parties including the UBP are not fans of negotiations with the Greek Cypriots to unify the island, preferring a two state solution.

The People's Party (HP) -- a new party that has expressed skepticism over negotiations to reunify the island -- polled well on 17 percent and was on course to win nine seats.

President Mustafa Akinci, whose dovish Communal Democracy Party (TDP) was set to win only three seats, will want broad backing at home as he seeks to push once more for a federal solution to the Cyprus problem and convince his Greek Cypriot counterparts he means business.

The election in the northern third of Cyprus comes six months after efforts to reunify the island collapsed at a United Nations-hosted peace summit in Switzerland over several sticking points including the withdrawal of Turkey's 45,000 troops.

On January 28, the Republic of Cyprus is set to hold a presidential election in which conservative incumbent Nicos Anastasiades is the frontrunner.

Anastasiades has campaigned on a pro-peace ticket, vowing to attempt to revive talks with Akinci, despite the souring of their relationship after two years of tough and ultimately fruitless negotiations.

Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=86691.

Greece: Joint air force drills with Cyprus, Egypt, Israel

October 01, 2017

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Greece's defense minister says plans are being drawn up for joint air force drills with Cyprus, Israel, Egypt and other European countries as part of efforts to bolster stability in the eastern Mediterranean.

Panos Kammenos' remarks Sunday came after a military parade in the Cypriot capital to commemorate the 57th anniversary of the ethnically divided island's independence. The parade included the overflight of a pair of Greek Air Force F-16 jets, the first showing of the Greek warplanes at the event in 16 years.

The island's Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said there will be no let-up in efforts to reunify Cyprus, despite July's collapse of peace talks with breakaway Turkish Cypriots. Russian-made BUK surface-to-air missiles were also put on the display at the parade.

Back to Switzerland for Cyprus peace deal talks

June 26, 2017

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — It's back to Switzerland for Cyprus peace talks. This time the rival leaders of the ethnically-divided island will be meeting at the secluded Swiss resort of Crans-Montana. Previous summits were held in Mont Pelerin and Geneva.

The talks kick off Wednesday and are due to last at least a week. They will likely determine whether a deal to reunify Cyprus, which is divided into a breakaway Turkish Cypriot north and an internationally recognized Greek Cypriot south, is possible or not.

The key issue is how security will be overseen if and when Cyprus is reunified as a federation. Other issues still to be resolved include how much territory the Greek and Turkish Cypriot federated states would be made up of and the process for allowing tens of thousands of displaced people to reclaim lost homes and property.

Here's a look at what will be at play at the peace summit:

MILITARY MUSCLE

The issue is one of the toughest in the complex negotiations that officials say have made significant headway in the last two years and has been left to be tackled last.

It revolves around the 35,000-plus troops that Turkey has kept in place since 1974 when it invaded Cyprus following a coup aimed at union with Greece. Turkey mounted the military action, invoking intervention rights that were granted under Cyprus' 1960 constitution to the island's "guarantors": Turkey, Greece and ex-colonial ruler Britain.

Cyprus' Greek Cypriot president, Nicos Anastasiades, and the leader of the Turkish Cypriots, Mustafa Akinci, both tackled the security conundrum in Geneva during January talks. The foreign ministers of the "guarantor" nations also took part.

But that meeting dissolved relatively quickly amid recriminations that neither side was unwilling to put its cards on the table and get down to hard bargaining.

TROOPS, NO TROOPS

The Greek Cypriot side wants military intervention rights expunged and Turkish troops gone to eliminate what is sees as an existential threat and Ankara's instrument of control over the island. Its argument is that no European Union member country would ever need third-country security guarantees.

Anastasiades has proposed an international police force to oversee post-reunification security with the U.N. Security Council using its clout to back it up.

The minority Turkish Cypriots see Turkey's troops as their sole assurance of protection in case a peace deal unravels and want them to stay.

Akinci has said a rethink over the need for troops could happen around 15 years after reunification. Turkish Cypriot and Turkish officials insist a Greek Cypriot call for a full troop withdrawal is a non-starter.

An alternative proposal that's been floated unofficially would see small contingents of Greek and Turkish troops deployed on the island after a deal, while intervention rights would be amended to remove any clause for unilateral action.

GO-BETWEEN

Any compromise on security must pass muster with Greek and Turkish Cypriots who will vote on any peace accord in separate referendums before it would be implemented.

U.N. envoy Espen Barth Eide told The Associated Press in April that the world body has helped put together a compromise formula to overcome the security hurdle. He said the formula was the result of consultation with the Cypriot leaders, the European Union and the "guarantors."

The Greek Cypriot side has insisted on prioritizing a security deal before other issues are tackled. Turkish Cypriots said all issues must be discussed concurrently as part of an overarching bartering process.

To accommodate both sides, negotiations at Crans-Montana will be split into two rooms — security in one, and everything else in the other.

TIMING IS EVERYTHING

The aim at Crans-Montana is for the two sides to achieve a breakthrough on an agreed peace accord framework. More work will be needed over the weeks and months ahead to fill in the gaps and prepare the ground for putting the completed deal to a vote.

Although it's said the talks will be open-ended, officials say it'll likely last a week to 10 days. And timing is essential.

The Cyprus government is set to start promising exploratory oil and gas drilling off the island's southern shore in mid-July amid strong opposition from Turkey, and the Turkish Cypriots who warn of a potential "crisis" if drilling proceeds.

Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots say a "unilateral" Greek Cypriot search for gas flouts their rights to the island's offshore mineral wealth. The Cypriot government insists drilling is it's sovereign right and that any hydrocarbon proceeds will be shared after a peace deal is sealed, signed and delivered.

Cyprus uses high-tech tools to speed search for its missing

June 23, 2017

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — With glue gun in hand, Turkish Cypriot anthropologist Sinem Hossoz meticulously pieces together tiny fragments — the pulverized skull of a child, one of the youngest victims of conflict on ethnically divided Cyprus.

Paul-Henri Arni, the U.N.-appointed member to the Committee on Missing Persons, says such things must be done. "It's for the dignity of the dead," he says, but also to spare relatives the shock of seeing a smashed skull when the remains are returned to them.

"The skull in all cultures, including here, is the center of the human person, it's the soul," Arni said at the CMP laboratory on the grounds of the disused Nicosia airport straddling a U.N. controlled buffer zone where skeletal remains are assembled for identification.

With international donations, the CMP has worked diligently for 11 years to help heal a gaping wound from this east Mediterranean island's tortured past and foster its future reconciliation. It has unearthed and identified more than a third of the 2,001 Greek and Turkish Cypriots who vanished during fighting between the two sides in the 1960s and during the summer of 1974. That's when a coup aiming at union with Greece triggered a Turkish invasion that split the island into a breakaway, Turkish Cypriot north and an internationally recognized south.

Time is working against the committee. Potential eyewitnesses who could help pinpoint graves are dying out, while unceasing construction sometimes makes such burial sites forever inaccessible. To expedite its work, Arni says the CMP is now sifting through archival information it has for the first time gained access to from the U.N., the International Committee of the Red Cross and some six countries that had dispatched peacekeeping troops to Cyprus at the time of the fighting.

It's also investing in new technologies like the Geographic Information System, or GIS, that links all information gathered from archives, investigators and eyewitnesses to give a more exact estimate of possible burial sites.

Gulden Plumer Kucuk, the CMP's Turkish Cypriot member, says she expects the new approach will begin to produce results within a year. She estimates the archival search will boost the inflow of information by up to 20 percent.

"The important thing is that we do everything in our capacity ... so when we turn our faces to the families, we should be able to say that we did everything for them," she said. The decades-long agony of the relatives of the disappeared is what drives Romanos Liritsas, a Greek Cypriot researcher with the committee.

It's "the humanitarian aspect that edges us to speed up, because the relatives have been waiting much too long to find their beloved ones," says Liritsas, standing in a field in the northern, Turkish Cypriot half of the island where colleagues, acting on an tip, are searching for a missing soldier's remains.

Greek Cypriot Eleni Kyriakou lived long enough to bury her son. The 88-year-old sat in a wheelchair at the head of the grave into which the small, wooden flag-draped coffin carrying the remains of her son Epiphanios was lowered — a burial with full military honors at Makedonitissa military cemetery.

The remains of Epiphanios, a 20-year-old second-lieutenant, were found along with those of five other comrades in a makeshift grave after vanishing on Aug. 15, 1974, during a retreat from of advancing Turkish troops.

A Turkish Cypriot man who recently recalled seeing the soldiers' unburied bodies in a gully shortly after fighting ceased, said Sevgul Uludag, a Turkish Cypriot journalist who for years has been gathering information on the whereabouts of the missing. The Turkish Cypriot man was 7 years old at the time, riding atop a donkey led by his grandfather, who had buried the soldiers.

Epiphanios' older brother Kyriakos said the back of his brother's skull bore a small hole. "After 43 years, you can imagine the emotional pressure," said Kyriakou. "When I saw the bones of my brother, I felt relief from this pressure."

The CMP still encounters a strong unwillingness from some witnesses or even perpetrators to talk, despite promised immunity from prosecution. "We're 100 percent sure that there are people that are still alive who are keeping information," says Kucuk's Greek Cypriot counterpart, Nestoras Nestoros. "We want them to understand that it is very, very useful for us and for the families that are still waiting and still looking for their loved ones."

A public appeal for information has been made by the island's Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci, who will meet in late June in Geneva for a summit in continuing pursuit of a breakthrough deal reunifying the island. A similar appeal has been made by the island's Christian and Muslim leaders.

Not all remains of the missing will be found, says Kucuk. In some instances, only partial skeletal remains will be returned to families. Some of the dead were left exposed on hilltops or buried in riverbeds, so their bones were scattered. Others may be buried under apartment buildings where the remains are inaccessible, although the CMP did dig up a private pool to get to the remains of two missing persons. In other instances, remains could have been dug up and reburied elsewhere, reinforcing the silence of perpetrators.

Nestoros says even a single bone from a missing person can offer some consolation to families. "It shows that this person has died," he says. "This is an answer for the relatives." Turkish Cypriot Raif Toluk is hopeful his family will soon find answers about his missing father. Working at the state telecommunications authority CyTA, Mehmet Raif vanished on Dec. 22, 1963. Toluk says his brothers were told their father was shot as he rode his bicycle home.

For 40 years, the family had heard nothing. Now Uludag's investigative work has indicated that Mehmet Raif may be among a number of Turkish Cypriots buried in a mass grave. Toluk says an excavation at the site late last year unearthed the remains of seven people and that DNA results are pending.

"My mother died waiting, 'He will come, he will come,'" says Toluk. "When you say 'This is your father' and we bury, I think we will relax. At least we will know that he's there."

Germany considering Jordan, Cyprus for anti-IS base

May 17, 2017

BERLIN (AP) — Germany's defense minister says her office has drafted a list of eight locations where it could move aircraft supporting the anti-IS mission if Turkey continues to block German lawmakers from visiting troops at the Incirlik base.

Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday a team is already in Jordan to assess a site there for its Tornado reconnaissance jets and a refueling plane, and Cyprus is also being considered. Nonetheless, she stressed talks with Turkey were still ongoing.

Germany has granted asylum to some soldiers Turkey believes were involved in a failed coup attempt last summer. That has prompted Turkey to block a request for German lawmakers to visit some 270 troops serving with the coalition against the Islamic State group at the Incirlik air base.

UN chief to meet rival Cyprus leaders in New York

May 31, 2017

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — United Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will meet the rival leaders of ethnically divided Cyprus at U.N. headquarters in New York amid faltering reunification talks, officials said Wednesday.

Cyprus government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said that the meeting Sunday evening will aim to carry out a review of the state of play in negotiations that are now at a standstill. Aleem Siddique, a U.N. spokesman in Cyprus, said the U.N. chief looks forward to welcoming the leaders to New York.

Last week, U.N. envoy Espen Barth Eide broke off mediation efforts after the island's Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and the leader of the breakaway Turkish Cypriots, Mustafa Akinci, failed to agree on how to move the peace process toward a final summit aiming for a comprehensive accord.

Guterres has intervened in an apparent bid to prevent the two year-old talks, which have made significant headway at reunifying the island as a federation, from unravelling. On Tuesday, Anastasiades warned that talks were now at risk of deadlock because of an insistence by Turkey and the breakaway Turkish Cypriots to keep Turkish troops deployed on the island even after a peace deal.

Turkey has maintained 35,000 troops in the country's breakaway Turkish Cypriot north since mounting an invasion in 1974 in response to a coup by supporters of union with Greece. Greek Cypriots see the troops as a threat and want them removed as part of any peace deal. Anastasiades has proposed the deployment of an international police force to oversee security.

The minority Turkish Cypriots say a peace deal must include the deployment of Turkish troops they see as their only security guarantee. Anastasiades insists on prioritizing at a final summit in Geneva an agreement on withdrawing Turkish troops before resolving all other outstanding issues.

Akinci maintains that all issues should be discussed in a give-and-take process.

Greek, Turkish Cypriots link arms across border for peace

May 27, 2017

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Dozens of Greek and Turkish Cypriots have linked arms across a U.N.-controlled buffer zone cutting across ethnically divided Cyprus' capital of Nicosia to voice their support for a reunification agreement.

Beating drums, blowing whistles and singing traditional Cypriot folk songs, the demonstrators said real peace lies in the hands of ordinary people from both sides of the divide as the Mediterranean island's reunification talks appear to be faltering.

Protesters said Saturday's event was to remind politicians not to let ordinary people down. On Friday, a U.N. envoy called off meditation efforts with the island's Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci after failing to find "common ground" on convening a final summit for an overall reunification deal.

But officials insisted talks haven't collapsed.

Cyprus reunification talks restart, tough challenges ahead

April 11, 2017

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Against the backdrop of Turkey's referendum on expanding presidential powers, talks aimed at reunifying ethnically divided Cyprus were restarted Tuesday with rival leaders hoping to claw back diminished trust and lost momentum after a two-month halt.

But the United Nations-mediated negotiations still face difficult challenges, with the island's Greek Cypriot president accusing the breakaway Turkish Cypriot leader of backpedaling on key issues at Turkey's prompting after many months of solid progress.

The minority Turkish Cypriots, meanwhile, say Greek Cypriots pay lip service to their core demand of equal partnership in the running of an envisioned federation — especially on holding the federal presidency alternately.

It's still unclear if talks can result in a deal both sides can rally behind. Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded following a coup mounted by supporters of union with Greece. A breakaway Turkish Cypriot state in the island's north is recognized only by Turkey which keeps more than 35,000 troops there.

With talks delving deeper, bargaining has become more complicated. President Nicos Anastasiades said Turkish Cypriot conditions on how they'll be represented in decision-making bodies would "paralyze" the state. Moreover, he said Turkey's demand that its citizens be granted the freedom to relocate and transfer money, services and goods to Cyprus as part of any peace deal would mean "Cyprus' takeover through peaceful means."

Compounding the difficulties is Turkey's condition for its troops and military intervention rights to stay in place after reunification, something that Turkish Cypriots say ensures their security but Greek Cypriots strongly reject.

Meanwhile, acrimony over legislation making a brief reference to a 1950 referendum on union with Greece mandatory in Greek Cypriot schools has sharpened divisions among Greek Cypriots. The legislation was reversed last week following Turkish Cypriot protests, but the move splintered Greek Cypriot opinion between those who saw it as necessary to get talks back on track and those who saw it as acquiescing to Turkey's will.

Anastasiades called the legislation kerfuffle a pretext for Akinci to halt talks ahead of Sunday's referendum on whether to concentrate more power in the hands of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who sought to project toughness in order to woo the nationalist vote.

Divided Cyprus' leaders conclude 'historic' map exchange

January 11, 2017

GENEVA (AP) — The rival leaders of ethnically divided Cyprus exchanged maps Wednesday outlining the zones the island's Greek and Turkish communities would control in a hoped-for federation, the first time such a swap has occurred after decades of reunification talks.

The maps now have been locked in a United Nations vault due to the sensitive nature of the proposed boundaries, which indicate how many people displaced by the nation's division may be eligible to reclaim lost homes and property relatively quickly.

Discussions to thrash out a single, compromise map will be scheduled for a later date, government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said. He said it would be up to Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anasastaides and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci to decide when those negotiations take place.

"This is not the end of the road," Christodoulides told reporters. "This is the beginning of negotiations on a very important chapter of the Cyprus problem." Turkish Cypriot spokesman Baris Burcu said both maps conformed to already agreed upon criteria for how much of the island's land would go to the Turkish Cypriot zone — between 28.2 and 29.2 percent.

In the meantime, the talks will move in an international direction on Thursday. The foreign ministers of Cyprus' so-called guarantors — Turkey, Greece and former colonial power Britain — are set to join a discussion on the pivotal issue of post-unification security arrangements.

Anastasiades and Akinci have been meeting in Geneva since Monday to discuss a number of outstanding issues that could restore unity to the island split by ethnic divisions for almost 43 years. Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974 in response to a coup aiming to unite the island with Greece. Many residents were stripped of homes and property when Cyprus divided into an official Greek Cypriot south and a breakaway Turkish north where Turkey has more than 35,000 troops stationed.

Top leaders from the European Union, which counts Cyprus as a member, are also expected to join the talks Thursday that will concentrate on how to ensure and who will oversee post-settlement security.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told reporters on Wednesday that the talks were "the very last chance to see the island being recomposed in a normal way." However, United Nations envoy Espen Barth Eide, who is facilitating the talks, sought to downplay expectations. Eide said that the process remains on track to overcome major obstacles.

He pointed to "historic" advances happening at the summit, such as the exchange of boundary maps and the participation of the three guarantor powers at such a high-level. But a deal likely won't emerge immediately from the summit since important technical details need to be sorted out before Cyprus' Greek and Turkish communities can vote on an overall agreement, Eide said.

"So don't expect that we will be walking home from Geneva — or rather flying — to Cyprus with a comprehensive settlement in our hands," Eides told reporters. "But we will go home with a sense that it is coming."

Hadjicostis reported from Nicosia, Cyprus. Raf Casert contributed from Brussels, Belgium.

Endgame looms in efforts to reunite Cyprus after 43 years

January 07, 2017

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The division of Cyprus is now in its 43rd year. Next week may mark the decisive moment when the small eastern Mediterranean island nation starts to be stitched back together again.

After 19 months of talks aimed at reunifying the internationally recognized Greek Cypriot south with the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north, the final details of a peace deal are set to be thrashed out, potentially bringing some good news to a region wracked by conflict and distrust.

But many hurdles remain — hurdles that have not been cleared in previous reunification attempts. The Conference on Cyprus is scheduled to start on Jan. 12 in Geneva, and is intended to hammer out some of the toughest aspects of a peace deal — including how to ensure security for both Greek and Turkish Cypriots once an aimed-for federation is established. The leaders of Greece, Turkey and the former colonial power Britain — the so-called guarantors — are widely anticipated to make an appearance at the summit.

Making sure there's no repeat of the events of 1974 is key. In the summer of that year, Cyprus was split into two after Turkey invaded in the wake of a Greek-backed coup that aimed to unite the island with the rest of Greece. Following the invasion, the country was cleaved along ethnic lines with the Turkish Cypriots controlling 36.5 percent of Cyprus' land mass backed by more than 35,000 Turkish troops deployed in the north. A Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence is recognized only by Turkey.

Before the official opening of the summit, Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci have earmarked three days from Jan. 9 to clear up a string of outstanding issues — including the pivotal matter of how much territory each side will control in a federation.

Here's a look at where things stand:

MY LAND, YOUR LAND

Talks almost broke down in November because Anastasiades and Akinci couldn't agree on how much territory the Greek and Turkish federal zones would control.

The difference was marginal — just a percentage point. Its impact was immense.

Greek Cypriots say enough territory must be returned under their control in order to allow at least 90,000 Greek Cypriots displaced by the 1974 invasion to reclaim lost homes and property in a relatively short time. The argument is that an agreement on those lines would reduce the financial burden of a peace deal by limiting the compensation amounts that will have to be paid to those not able to reclaim their homes and land. It would also potentially boost Greek Cypriot support for a deal when it's put to a vote — a previous peace deal in 2004 was rejected by Greek Cypriots in a referendum.

Turkish Cypriots, on the other hand, want to limit the numbers that relocate. Telling Turkish Cypriots to leave what they have considered home for decades is unlikely to go down well with many in any subsequent referendum.

Both Anastasiades and Akinci are expected to produce maps showcasing their intentions. Anastasiades said without maps to sort out a final deal, talks won't move to the top issue — security.

GUARANTORS

There's another layer when it comes to Cyprus, an island that's seen its share of big power intrigue through the centuries, from Alexander the Great's invasion in the fourth century B.C., through Roman times, the Crusaders and most recently the British.

Legally, negotiations that touch on Cyprus' security must include Greece, Turkey and Britain because Cyprus' 1960 constitution accorded them "guarantor" status. The idea was to have the three protect the fledgling democracy at its independence from British rule which had followed four years of a guerrilla campaign by Greek Cypriots aimed at unifying the island with Greece — something the minority Turkish Cypriots deeply opposed.

Turkey invoked its intervention rights from its status as a guarantor in 1974.

SECURITY

Trust is therefore essential.

Turkish Cypriots fear that the majority Greek Cypriots could overwhelm them in the future. That's why they are insisting that Turkish troops should remain as a bulwark.

Greek Cypriots, meanwhile, have worries over the might of Turkey and insist that a country outside the European Union — of which Cyprus is a member — should neither keep troops on the island nor the right to militarily intervene. EU officials have backed that notion.

Turkey's increasingly authoritarian ways and recent security problems, evidenced further in the New Year's Day attack in Istanbul that killed 39 people, have done little to either assuage Greek Cypriot fears or foster trust. United Nations officials are reportedly trying to work out a formula that would answer the security fears of both sides.

SUMMIT

Word is that Greece, Britain and Turkey will be represented at the Cyprus Conference at the highest levels. Top EU officials including Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Foreign Policy chief Federica Mogherini are said to be going, too. Anastasiades said that U.N. Security Council members may also attend on the sidelines if they so wish.

U.N. envoy Espen Barth Eide has said the talks may expand to include issues that affect EU-Turkey relations, such as what to do with all the refugees who have fled Syria for Europe. Akinci has said that if a deal is struck in Geneva, it may take a few more months to thrash out the legal details before accord is put to a vote in the summer.

STAKES ARE HIGH

A peace deal would bolster regional security and ease cooperation in tapping potentially huge oil and gas reserves beneath the Med seabed.

For the wider region, a deal could be a beacon of hope.

Greeks and Turks, Muslims and Christians working things out could send a powerful message of peace.

UN chief sees 'historic opportunity' for Cyprus breakthrough

January 07, 2017

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Secretary-General Antonio Guterres believes there is "a historic opportunity" for a breakthrough in upcoming negotiations that would reunite the divided Mediterranean island of Cyprus after more than four decades, the United Nations said Friday.

The new U.N. chief will be opening and chairing a conference that starts Jan. 12 with the Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders and Cyprus' three guarantors — Britain, Greece and Turkey — that will be seeking agreement on post-settlement security arrangements, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

The Geneva conference will follow three days of talks between the island's Greek Cypriot president, Nicos Anastasiades, and breakaway Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci starting Jan. 9 to try to reach a settlement.

"We're at a very decisive phase in the Cyprus peace talks," Dujarric said. "At this point it's really about being supportive of the process and seeing how the parties can finally bridge the final gaps."

The island was split into a Greek Cypriot south and a Turkish Cypriot north in 1974 when Turkey invaded after a coup by Cypriot supporters of union with Greece. Turkish Cypriots declared an independent state in 1983, but only Turkey recognizes it and keeps 35,000 troops there. While the island joined the European Union in 2004, only the internationally recognized Greek-speaking south enjoys full membership benefits.

Guterres met Thursday with Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and late Friday afternoon with Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias. Kotzias called it a "very nice" meeting but refused to comment on the Cyprus talks.

Dujarric said Guterres "expressed his appreciation for Greece's continued support to the Cyprus talks and commitment to a comprehensive settlement of the issue." "He recognized the historic moment for Cyprus" presented by the conference starting Jan. 12 and "lauded the unprecedented progress made by the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities," Dujarric said.

The secretary-general "appealed to all parties to use this opportunity to find creative and mutually acceptable solutions that address the concerns of both communities," Dujarric said. Earlier, Dujarric said that Gutteres emphasized "the historic opportunity" in his meeting with and "underlined the need for mutually acceptable solutions that address the concerns of both communities."

He said the secretary-general also "expressed hope that all parties would demonstrate the necessary creativity in seeking innovative solutions." The two sides have been trying to strike an accord for decades, with U.N. support.

Cavusoglu told reporters Thursday he is "more optimistic than ever" that an agreement can be reached, but stressed that there are still "serious issues" regarding territory, the map, security and guarantees.

The summit is seen as the apex of 19 months of talks between the two leaders that have produced significant progress on how an envisioned federation will function after an accord is approved in separate votes on both sides of the island.

Associated Press Writer Menelaos Hadjicostic contributed to this report from Nicosia, Cyprus.

Divided Cyprus' rival leaders agree to restart stalled talks

December 02, 2016

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The rival leaders of ethnically divided Cyprus have agreed to resume reunification talks, the United Nations said Friday, breaking a nearly two-week stalemate that threatened to sink 19 months of solid progress.

In a statement issued early Friday, the U.N. said Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and breakaway Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci agreed to meet in Geneva next month over four days to tackle the most difficult issues in the way of ending one of Europe's most intractable conflicts.

The talks starting Jan. 9 in the Swiss city will aim to hammer out an agreement on the pivotal aspect of how much territory each side will control in an envisioned federation. They will also bring together Greece, Turkey and Cyprus' former colonial ruler Britain to decide on ensuring on-the-ground security after an accord is signed.

The U.N. said teams of negotiators from either side will step up meetings in Cyprus ahead of the Geneva summit to mark further progress on other issues that remain unresolved. The leaders will meet as necessary.

A 1974 Turkish invasion following a coup aimed at union with Greece split the island into an internationally recognized Greek-speaking south and a breakaway, Turkish-speaking north. A Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence is recognized only by Turkey which keeps more than 35,000 troops in the north.

The announcement came after Anastasiades and Akinci met over four hours at a dinner hosted by U.N. envoy Espen Barth Eide inside the U.N. controlled buffer zone that splits the capital Nicosia. It was their first face-to-face meeting after talks in the Swiss resort of Mont Pelerin broke down last month amid disagreement over how many displaced Greek Cypriots would be eligible to reclaim lost homes and property in redrawn federal zones. Anastasiades wanted as many as 90,000 people to be able to reclaim homes and property, while Akinci offered a maximum 65,000.

Anastasiades said after the dinner that there's a good chance to wrap up most of the issues on which the two sides differ ahead of the Geneva meeting. "I want to reiterate our determination and from what I've concluded the determination of the other side to finally create the kind of fertile ground that will lead us to a successful conclusion," Anastasiades said.

The decision to resume talks came amid much finger-pointing about who was to blame for the Mont Pelerin impasse. According to a schedule for the talks, the two leaders will present respective maps on how much territory their federal zones should comprise on Jan. 11. An enlarged meeting on security that will include Greece, Turkey and Britain will take place the following day.

The Greek Cypriot side says federal boundaries should be redrawn in a way that would allow the majority of Greek Cypriots displaced by the invasion to reclaim homes and property. That would reduce the cost of a peace accord by limiting the amount of compensation that would be paid out to those who wouldn't be able to get property back and would help shore up support for a deal among the Greek Cypriot electorate when the deal is put to a vote in referendums on both sides.

Turkish Cypriots insist that territorial adjustments should keep the number of Turkish Cypriots who would be forced to relocate to the bare minimum. Another key sticking point in talks is a Turkish Cypriot demand to cede Turkey the right to militarily intervene and to keep troops on the island under any deal. The minority Turkish Cypriots see Turkey's as vital for their security, while Greek Cypriots consider them as a threat undermining the island's sovereignty.

Military intervention rights were granted to Greece, Turkey and Britain under the island's 1960 constitution. The Greek government opposes keeping these rights in place after a peace deal. The decision to resume talks comes after remarks by Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier this week in which he suggested that Greek Cypriots won't be permitted to fulfill their goal of controlling the entire island. Anastasiades decried the remarks as unacceptable.