Greek-Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades has scheduled his first meeting with the new Turkish-Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci, which is set to take place within the week.
According to Cypriot government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides, the two men spoke on the phone on Tuesday and agreed to meet on Saturday, less than a week after Akinci’s election as the new Turkish-Cypriot leader. However, the venue for their meeting has yet to be determined.
Furthermore, the spokesman revealed that the two leaders will discuss about moving forward with the stalled peace negotiations in order to reunify the island.
“The Greek-Cypriot community is poised to announce unilateral confidence building measures toward Turkish-Cypriots,” added Chrisodoulides.
Akinci, a longtime champion of the island’s reunification, was elected on Sunday, defeating nationalist Dervis Eroglu. Meanwhile, Anastasiades stated on Monday that Akinci’s election had renewed hope for reaching an agreement between Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders after 40 years of division.
This will be the first meeting between Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders since October 2014, when Anastasiades suspended his participation in the peace talks following a Navigational Telex (NAVTEX) issued by Turkey for the conduction of hydrocarbons research in Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) by seismic vessel “Barbaros,” escorted by a number of Turkish Navy ships.
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