The Turkish and Greek Cypriot leaders have agreed to restart stalled reunification talks early next year, the United Nations announced in a statement late Thursday.
Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot President Mustafa Akinci came to the decision while meeting at the Head of Mission’s Residence in the UN Protected Area (UNPA) under the auspices of Special UN Cyprus Envoy Espen Barth Eide.
"The leaders have decided to immediately re-engage in their negotiations and have instructed their negotiators to continue meeting in order to achieve further progress on all outstanding issues interdependently," the UN said in a statement.
According to the statement, the sides will meet in Geneva on Jan. 9 to reach a comprehensive settlement as soon as possible.
"On the 11th of January, they will present their respective maps.
"From the 12th of January, a Conference on Cyprus will be convened with the added participation of the guarantor powers. Other relevant parties shall be invited as needed," it added.