Divided Cyprus' rival leaders restart reunification talks after 8-month hiatus

Published December 08, 2015

Associated Press

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The painted image of a soldier marks a battle position in an abandoned home inside the United Nations-controlled buffer zone they cuts across the Cypriot divided capital Nicosia on Thursday, May 14 2015. Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci, stalled talks aimed at reunifying ethnically divided Cyprus will resume Friday, May 15. Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded after a coup by supporters of union with Greece. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias) (The Associated Press)

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The painted image of a soldier marks a battle position in an abandoned home inside the United Nations-controlled buffer zone they cuts across the Cypriot divided capital Nicosia on Thursday, May 14 2015. Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci, stalled talks aimed at reunifying ethnically divided Cyprus will resume Friday, May 15. Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded after a coup by supporters of union with Greece. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias) (The Associated Press)

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A Greek Cypriot abandoned guard post next of the United Nations-controlled buffer zone they cuts across the Cypriot divided capital Nicosia on Thursday, May 14 2015. Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci, stalled talks aimed at reunifying ethnically divided Cyprus will resume Friday, May 15. Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded after a coup by supporters of union with Greece. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias) (The Associated Press)

Cyprus' rival leaders are meeting at a United Nations compound to restart talks aimed at ending the small island nation's four decades of division. Negotiations got under way again Friday after an eight-month hiatus.

In a familiar scene from previous rounds, Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and the leader of the breakaway Turkish Cypriots, Mustafa Akinci, arrived at the capital's derelict airport in search of a breakthrough to one of Europe's most stubborn conflicts.

Cyprus split in 1974 when Turkey invaded after a coup by supporters of union with Greece.

The victory of Akinci, a moderate, over a hardline incumbent has offered a glimmer of hope for a peace deal among ordinary Cypriots jaded by decades of failure.

https://www.foxnews.com/world/divided-cyprus-rival-leaders-restart-reunification-talks-after-8-month-hiatus