Top Turkish diplomat meets senior UN official on Cyprus

ANKARA

Turkey's foreign minister on Monday met with the UN's special envoy on the Cyprus dispute in the Turkish capital Ankara.

Mevlut Cavusoglu and Jane Holl Lute discussed preparations for an informal 5+1 meeting on Cyprus, which is planned to be held in Geneva at the end of April under the leadership of the UN, the minister said on Twitter.

"Sustainable and realistic settlement for the benefit of all parties in Cyprus is the cooperation of two states based on sovereign equality," Cavusoglu added.

The unofficial 5+1 meeting -- including both sides on Cyprus, the three guarantor countries, plus the UN -- is set to be held on April 27-29 in Geneva.

The island has been divided since 1964 when ethnic attacks forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into 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 to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence.

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was founded in 1983.

The Greek Cypriot administration entered the EU in 2004, the same year that Greek Cypriots thwarted the UN's Annan Plan to end the decades-long dispute.

Separately, the Turkish foreign minister had a phone conversation with his newly appointed Libyan counterpart Najla El Mangoush and congratulated her on assuming office, according to diplomatic sources.

El Mangoush from Libya's east was appointed the country's first female foreign minister.

With nearly 15 years of experience, she has worked in different international organizations and has been living in the US since 2012.

Cavusoglu also received David Satterfield, US ambassador to Turkey, in the capital Ankara.

According to diplomatic sources, recent developments were discussed at the meeting that was held before the two-day NATO foreign ministers' meeting that will start on Wednesday.

Satterfield was nominated by former US President Donald Trump on Feb. 16, 2019, to be the US ambassador to Turkey, while he was Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs since 2017.

Before Satterfield, John Bass was the last serving American ambassador to Turkey from 2014 to 2017.