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Friday, June 30, 2017

UN chief joins Cyprus peace talks to help clear logjam

Guterres said in unscripted remarks that "the emotional and rational" Mediterranean sides of Greeks and Turks are a strength that could be used to resolve problems holding back an agreement, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he's not authorized to disclose details of the meeting. Guterres is sounding out the island's Greek Cypriot president, Nicos Anastasiades, Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci and top diplomats from Cyprus' "guarantors" — Greece, Turkey and Britain — on ways to bridge gaps preventing progress. Greece and the Greek Cypriots want military rights abolished and all Turkish troops removed, replaced instead by a U.N. Security Council-backed international police force.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.sfgate.com