During a visit to the divided island of Cyprus, UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced that he would convene fresh talks in a 5+1 format to end the half-century deadlock.
He invited both the Turkish Cypriot leadership in the north and that of the Republic of Cyprus in the largely Greek-speaking south to take part, along with the country's three guarantor powers: the United Kingdom, Greece and Turkey.
The announcement was made after the joint meeting he held on Wednesday in Nicosia with the president of the internationally recognised Republic of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides and the Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman.
"On the basis of our discussions on the way forward from here, I have decided to convene another 5+1 meeting, following adequate preparation on confidence-building measures, the methodology and the substance, taking into account the convergences already achieved," Guterres said.
The UN chief did not announce a timeline for the talks, saying that it would depend on "adequate preparation" and progress in confidence-building measures.
