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Turkey insists on two states for ethnically divided Cyprus as the UN looks to restart peace talks

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Turkey insists on two states for ethnically divided Cyprus as the UN looks to restart peace talks
News

News

Turkey insists on two states for ethnically divided Cyprus as the UN looks to restart peace talks

2025-01-09 02:31 Last Updated At:02:50

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Turkey on Wednesday again insisted on a two-state peace accord in ethnically divided Cyprus as the United Nations prepares to meet with all sides in early spring in hopes of restarting formal talks to resolve one of the world’s most intractable conflicts.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Cyprus “must continue on the path of a two-state solution” and that expending efforts on other arrangements ending Cyprus’ half-century divide would be “a waste of time.”

Fidan spoke to reporters after talks with Ersin Tatar, leader of the breakaway Turkish Cypriots whose declaration of independence in 1983 in Cyprus’ northern third is recognized only by Turkey.

Cyprus’ ethnic division occurred in 1974 when Turkey invaded in the wake of a coup, sponsored by the junta then ruling Greece, that aimed to unite the island in the eastern Mediterranean with the Greek state.

The most recent major push for a peace deal collapsed in 2017.

Since then, Turkey has advocated for a two-state arrangement in which the numerically fewer Turkish Cypriots would never be the minority in any power-sharing arrangement.

But Greek Cypriots do not support a two-state deal that they see as formalizing the island’s partition and perpetuating what they see as a threat of a permanent Turkish military presence on the island.

Greek Cypriot officials have maintained that the 2017 talks collapsed primarily on Turkey’s insistence on permanently keeping at least some of its estimated 35,000 troops currently in the island's breakaway north, and on enshrining military intervention rights in any new peace deal.

The U.N. the European Union and others have rejected a two-state deal for Cyprus, saying the only way forward is a federation agreement with Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot zones.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is preparing to host an informal meeting in Switzerland in March to hear what each side envisions for a peace deal. Last year, an envoy Guterres dispatched to Cyprus reportedly concluded that there's no common ground for a return to talks.

The island’s Greek Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides says he’s ready to resume formal talks immediately but has ruled out any discussion on a two-state arrangement.

Tatar, leader of the breakaway Turkish Cypriots, said the meeting will bring together the two sides in Cyprus, the foreign ministers of “guarantor powers” Greece and Turkey and a senior British official to chart “the next steps” regarding Cyprus’ future.

A peace deal would not only remove a source of instability in the eastern Mediterranean, but could also expedite the development of natural gas deposits inside Cyprus' offshore economic zone that Turkey disputes.

U.N. Secretary General's Special Representative in Cyprus Colin Stewart, center, Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides, left, and the Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar shake hands as they attend the U.N.'s end of year reception at Ledras Palace inside the U.N buffer zone in divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

U.N. Secretary General's Special Representative in Cyprus Colin Stewart, center, Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides, left, and the Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar shake hands as they attend the U.N.'s end of year reception at Ledras Palace inside the U.N buffer zone in divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

U.N. Secretary General's Special Representative in Cyprus Colin Stewart, center, Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides, left, and the Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar talk as they attend the U.N.'s end of year reception at Ledras Palace inside the U.N buffer zone in the divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

U.N. Secretary General's Special Representative in Cyprus Colin Stewart, center, Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides, left, and the Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar talk as they attend the U.N.'s end of year reception at Ledras Palace inside the U.N buffer zone in the divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

ESTAVAYER-LE-LAC, Switzerland (AP) — Two-time Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel is expected to return to competition this month after a serious crash last year, Tour de Romandie organizers said on Thursday.

Evenepoel sustained multiple fractures, a dislocated collarbone and lung contusions in December when he crashed into a vehicle while training in Belgium.

“From the first lists of entries received by the race organization, one name has already emerged that is sure to thrill the public: The prodigious Remco Evenepoel, double Olympic champion in Paris,” Tour de Romandie organizers said.

Evenepoel's Soudal Quick-Step team has yet to confirm his participation, and it's unclear whether he will resume racing before the Tour de Romandie, which takes place in Switzerland from April 29-May 4.

The 25-year-old Evenepoel crashed into the open door of a Post Office van on Dec. 3. The impact was heavy enough to break the frame of his bicycle. He underwent successful surgery.

Evenepoel's main goal this season is the Tour de France in July.

He was third last year at cycling's biggest race. He went on to become the first cyclist to sweep the road race and time trial at an Olympic Games in Paris in August.

A two-time world champion, Evenepoel also won the Spanish Vuelta in 2022.

AP cycling: https://apnews.com/hub/cycling

FILE -Remco Evenepoel, of Belgium, celebrates winning the men's road cycling event, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin, File)

FILE -Remco Evenepoel, of Belgium, celebrates winning the men's road cycling event, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin, File)

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