Cyprus leaders launch reunification negotiations

The leaders of estranged Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities of Cyprus launched reunification negotiations on Tuesday. Both sides tried to seek a solution that will lead to a federal system of power sharing between the two communities. Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu met for 80 minutes at a United Nations compound on the buffer zone separating their respective regions and agreed on a joint statement setting out the basics of a solution. They said they would seek a bi-zonal, bi-communal federal state with a single sovereignty, emanating equally from the two communities, a single citizenship and a single international representation. The joint statement was read out by Lisa Buttenheim, the United Nations Special Representative in Cyprus, who said the two leaders instructed their representatives to start substantial talks this week. "The leaders expressed their determination to resume structured negotiations in a results-oriented manner," she said. Cyprus has been divided since 1974 after a Turkish intervention which followed a coup by Greek army officers. The negotiations were originally scheduled to restart in October 2013, but the two sides wrangled about four months over the wording of a joint statement.