Nicosia---Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and newly elected Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci will not meet this weekend as planned after a "misunderstanding", an official said Wednesday.
Government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides told Cypriot state radio that the two leaders would now meet sometime next week, blaming "bad coordination" for the mix-up.
Akinci, a longtime champion of reunifying the island, was elected as the leader of the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus last 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 and officials had said the pair would meet on Saturday.
"The fact that they will meet is more significant than the date," Christodoulides said.
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.
A UN-monitored ceasefire line has divided the island since 1974 when Turkish troops occupied its northern third in response to an Athens-inspired coup seeking union with Greece.
AFP
