MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th November, 2019) Russia welcomes efforts by UN chief Antonio Guterres to negotiate a way out of the reunification deadend with Cypriot leaders, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
Guterres invited Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci to an informal meeting in Berlin on November 25.
"We welcome efforts by the UN secretary general to push both Cypriot communities toward resuming reunification dialogue," the ministry said in a statement published by its information department.
The ministry reiterated that it hoped for both sides to reach a comprehensive, fair and viable deal with active mediation from all core members of the UN Security Council.
The Mediterranean island nation has been split in two since 1974, when a Greek Cypriot riot prompted Turkey to occupy northern Cyprus and create an entity that only it recognizes. The Republic of Cyprus has been an EU member since 2004.
