Secretary-General to visit Cyprus to support intensive talks on reunification

27 January 2010 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will travel to Cyprus this Sunday to boost United Nations-backed efforts to reunify the Mediterranean island as the leaders of the two communities continue their intensive talks this week.

Mr. Ban will visit Cyprus from 31 January through 2 February, his spokesperson announced in a statement, following discussions today between the Secretary-General and his Special Adviser for Cyprus, Alexander Downer.

Mr. Ban will hold discussions with Mr. Downer as well as with Greek Cypriot leader Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat while he is in Cyprus.

Mr. Christofias and Mr. Talat have been engaged in another round of intensive talks under UN auspices this week in Nicosia in a bid to find a solution to the long-running divisions on the island.

In 2008 the two leaders committed themselves to working towards “a bi-communal, bi-zonal federation with political equality, as defined by relevant Security Council resolution.”

That partnership would comprise a federal government with a single international personality, along with a Turkish Cypriot Constituent State and a Greek Cypriot Constituent State, which would be of equal status.

In today’s statement Mr. Ban stressed that the UN remains committed to helping the two communities reach a solution.

“The international community has tremendous goodwill for Cyprus and a strong interest in seeing the Cypriots arrive at a solution.”

A UN peacekeeping operation, known as UNFICYP, has been in place on Cyprus since an outbreak of inter-communal violence in 1964.