Eide makes final visit to Cyprus as UN special envoy
Espen Barth Eide has returned to Cyprus for the final time in his capacity as United Nations special envoy, as he plans to run in September elections in his native Norway.
Eide is scheduled to hold separate meetings with Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci on Thursday morning.
Later on Thursday, Eide will give a farewell reception at the Ledra Palace hotel, in the UN-patrolled buffer zone of divided capital Nicosia.
Marathon talks aimed at ending Cyprus’s drawn-out conflict ended without a deal last month, despite UN efforts to jumpstart the process.
Eide is expected to draft two reports with his conclusions about the peace talks and their prospects. Both sides have engaged in a blame game in the aftermath of the failed talks, with Ankara threatening to activate a Plan B with unilateral measures.
Cyprus has been divided since a 1974 Turkish army invasion triggered by a coup by Greek Cypriots seeking union with Greece.
