UNITED NATIONS, June 27 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday called on all concerned parties to seize the opportunity for the reunification of Cyprus.
Guterres made the statement one day ahead of UN-mediated talks on Cyprus which are to resume on Wednesday in Crans-Montana, Switzerland.
Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, representing the Greek Cypriot community, and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci will be present at the conference, along with Greece, Turkey, and Britain as guarantor powers and the European Union as an observer.
"I urge all participants to demonstrate the will and leadership required to conclude a comprehensive settlement," said Guterres.
"To this end, as Secretary-General of the United Nations, I reiterate my steadfast commitment to supporting this effort," he added.
The full-fledged conference will discuss security and guarantee arrangements after a solution ending the 43-year-long division of Cyprus, while Anastasiades and Akinci will discuss outstanding internal aspects of a settlement, namely territorial adjustments, the future of mostly Greek Cypriot properties, power sharing and relations with the European Union.
Cyprus was divided when Turkey mounted a military operation in 1974, in response to a Greek-inspired coup, resulting in the occupation of 37 percent of the island's territory.
Security and guarantees are expected to be the most thorny issues, as Greek Cypriots want to end any presence of Turkey on the eastern Mediterranean island, while Turkey wants to keep a military detachment and preserve intervention rights it obtained when Cyprus became independent in 1960.
