UN's Ban to meet with Cypriot leaders today

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today will hold a trilateral meeting with Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders in Geneva in a bid to jump-start stalled efforts to reunite the divided Mediterranean island. The meeting in Geneva is a follow-up to a similar trilateral meeting held last November at UN headquarters in New York. During that meeting, Ban said Turkish Cypriot President Dervis Eroglu and Greek Cypriot leader Dimitris Christofias had recognized the need to move more quickly and decisively to reach agreement on a reunification plan, while announcing that he would submit an updated assessment of progress to the UN Security Council in February. Last month the Security Council called on Christofias and Eroglu to develop "a practical plan for overcoming the major remaining points of disagreement" in preparation for today's meeting with Ban. The council also called on the rival leaders "to foster positive public rhetoric," clearly explain the benefits of a settlement, and stress the need for increased flexibility and compromise to reach a solution. It also urged the implementation of confidence-building measures, including the opening of additional crossing points between the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and Greek Cyprus.