The leaders of Cyprus's estranged Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities will meet over dinner next Sunday in a first encounter of the two since peace talks were abruptly interrupted in February, the United Nations said on Monday.
Reunification talks hit the latest in a long line of snags last month over a decision by Greek Cypriot lawmakers to commemorate the 1950 referendum which had then sought to unite the island with Greece -- infuriating Turkish Cypriots.
Espen Barth Eide, the special adviser to of the United Nations secretary-general, will host a dinner for Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci on April 2, his office said in a statement.
The dinner will take place in the United Nations-controlled buffer zone dividing Cyprus's capital, Nicosia.
Cyprus was split when Turkey invaded in 1974 in a move triggered by a brief Greek-inspired coup. The seeds of division were sowed much earlier when a power-sharing government crumbled amid fighting in 1963, just three years after the island gained independence from Britain.
UN to host Cyprus leaders April 2, first since talks since breakdown in February
The leaders of Cyprus's estranged Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities will meet over dinner next Sunday in a first encounter of the two since peace talks were abruptly interrupted in February, the United Nations said on Monday.
Reunification talks hit the latest in a long line of snags last month over a decision by Greek Cypriot lawmakers to commemorate the 1950 referendum which had then sought to unite the island with Greece -- infuriating Turkish Cypriots.
Espen Barth Eide, the special adviser to of the United Nations secretary-general, will host a dinner for Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci on April 2, his office said in a statement.
The dinner will take place in the United Nations-controlled buffer zone dividing Cyprus's capital, Nicosia.
Cyprus was split when Turkey invaded in 1974 in a move triggered by a brief Greek-inspired coup. The seeds of division were sowed much earlier when a power-sharing government crumbled amid fighting in 1963, just three years after the island gained independence from Britain.