Erdogan, Turkish Cypriot leader meet ahead of UN talks

ANKARA

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with his Turkish Cypriot counterpart on Monday ahead of informal Cyprus talks in Geneva.

Erdogan met Ersin Tatar, the president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), at the presidential complex in the Turkish capital Ankara for the meeting that lasted about an hour.

The two leaders discussed all aspects of the bilateral relations between Turkey and the TRNC, as well as steps to deepen cooperation.

Erdogan and Tatar also discussed recent developments concerning the Cyprus issue, including upcoming informal UN five-plus-one talks to be held in Geneva on April 27-29.

The informal Geneva talks will be held with the participation of the TRNC and Greek Cypriot administration, as well as guarantor countries Turkey, Greece and the UK under the leadership of the UN.

Cyprus issue

Cyprus has been mired in a decades-long struggle between Greek and Turkish Cypriots despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the UN to achieve a comprehensive settlement.

The island has been divided since 1964, when ethnic attacks forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw to enclaves for their safety. In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aiming at Greece's annexation led to Turkey’s military intervention as a guarantor power. The TRNC was founded in 1983.

The Greek Cypriot administration, backed by Greece, became a member of the EU in 2004, though most Greek Cypriots rejected a UN settlement plan in a referendum that year which had envisaged a reunited Cyprus joining the bloc.

*Writing by Mehmet Tosun