Europe

Cyprus leaders: More work needed to restart peace talks

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Cyprus' President Nicos Anastasiades waves to protesters as he arrives in a car at Ledras Palace, inside the U.N buffer zone, for a dinner with the Turkish Cypriot leader and the U.N special envoy in the divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Sunday, April 2, 2017. A United Nations-hosted dinner for the two leaders aims to clinch a swift restart of talks that broke down in February amid a squabble over Cyprus' troubled history. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias) (The Associated Press)

U.N. Special Advisor of the Secretary-General Espen Barth Eide, center, addresses protesters outside the main gate of Ledras Palace, where a dinner for ethnically divided Cyprus' rival leaders will be held, inside the U.N buffer zone in the divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Sunday, April 2, 2017. A United Nations-hosted dinner for the two leaders aims to clinch a swift restart of talks that broke down in February amid a squabble over Cyprus' troubled history. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias) (The Associated Press)

Greek and Turkish Cypriots hold banners reading in Greek and Turkish "Solution Now" and "Enough" as they gather outside of the Ledras Palace, inside the UN buffer zone, where the United Nations envoy will host a dinner with ethnically divided Cyprus' rival leaders in divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Sunday, April 2, 2017. As the standstill in Cyprus reunification talks stretched into its second month, the country's rival leaders are looking to Sunday's dinner as a potential ice-breaker to put the negotiations back on track. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias) (The Associated Press)

The rival leaders of ethnically divided Cyprus say more work is needed to prepare the ground for the resumption of stalled reunification talks.

Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and the island's breakaway Turkish Cypriot leader, Mustafa Akinci, said in a joint statement Sunday that United Nations Envoy Espen Barth Eide would continue contacts with them both to get negotiations back on track.

The leaders said they had an "open and constructive" exchange about what caused the talks to break down on Feb. 16 and also shared ideas about moving the process forward.

The brief statement came at the end of an U.N.-hosted dinner where it was hoped the two leaders could smooth out their differences and then get back to the negotiating table as soon as possible.