Nicosia - Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades will meet newly elected Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci on Saturday ahead of a new round of UN-brokered talks aimed at reuniting the long-divided island, officials said.
Cyprus government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said the two leaders had agreed to meet following a long telephone conversation on Tuesday.
He said the meeting would tackle issues relating to reconciliation efforts between the two sides, which have been on hold since October.
Akinci, a long-time champion of reunifying the island, was elected as the leader of the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on Sunday, defeating nationalist incumbent Dervis Eroglu.
Anastasiades said that Akinci's election had renewed hope that a settlement could be reached between Turkish and Greek Cypriot leaders after 40 years of division.
In a Tuesday statement, the Cypriot leader spoke of his "strong belief in the need to create a climate of trust that will work towards reinforcing the negotiating process".
UN envoy Espen Barth Eide is due back in Cyprus from May 4 to 8 to continue preparations for the talks' resumption after the Greek Cypriots ended a six-month boycott, the United Nations said.
The Greek Cypriot press broadly welcomed the Turkish Cypriot election outcome, with Monday's mass-circulation Phileleftheros newspaper reporting "a page has been turned" and the independent Politis daily calling the result a "second spring".
But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave Akinci a rap on the knuckles after the new Turkish Cypriot leader said Turkey and the TRNC should enjoy a relationship of "brotherly countries" rather than mother and child.
Speaking to reporters at an Ankara airport, Erdogan said: "Mr president (Akinci) should listen to what he says."
AFP
