Cyprus' President-elect, Turkish Cypriot leader meet in buffer zone

Nicosia, Feb 24 Cyprus' President-elect Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar met for the first time, but failed to move any closer to restarting the long-stalled peace negotiations for the reunification of the eastern Mediterranean island.

"They had an informal discussion, which was open and constructive," the UN Peace Keeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) said in a statement on Thursday.

The two met on neutral ground at the home of Canadian diplomat Colin Stewart, who also performs the role of deputy special adviser of the UN Secretary General on Cyprus, in the UN-controlled buffer zone dividing the capital Nicosia.

The statement added they addressed several issues, including the recent devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. In the latter context, they expressed their condolences to the families of the victims, Xinhua news agency reported.

Several Turkish Cypriots who stayed in Turkey were killed in the quakes.

However, the statement did not provide details on the issue of restarting the negotiations for a Cyprus solution, which came to an impasse at a UN-led international conference in Switzerland in July 2017.

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