Espen Barth Eide has been a regular fixture in the Cyprus talks
The top United Nations representative on Cyprus has hailed the “unique opportunity” presented by the present round of Greek-Turkish talks.
Speaking during a visit to Ankara last week, Espen Barth Eide said the current round of peace talks in Cyprus were the “best opportunity” in many years.
He said: “My primary task is to assist the leaders in their negotiations. The leaders need each other to succeed. There is only a joint success. There is no individual success.
“I want to say that it is the best opportunity in many years. I think the leaders of Cyprus know that and they want to use this opportunity.
“We know how both leaders work really well together. It has really transformed the atmosphere of the talks. We have been sitting together and discussing all key issues.”
He added that another challenge of the talks were the security problems in the area surrounding the island: “There is the Syria security crisis in the neighbourhood and there is also an economic crisis which affects Greece and also Cyprus.
“I think people understand that the cost and risks involved in not solving the Cyprus problem are bigger than they used to think.”
Regarding the natural resources, a key point of disagreement in the ongoing talks, Mr Eide said: “There was a deep disagreement on how to deal with this in the present, while there was already an agreement about how to deal with it in the future in case of an settlement.”