Turkish daily's report on Stewart's statements are 'false and baseless'

Everything included in the Turkish Cypriot press article is wrong and unfounded allegations which we absolutely do not confirm, UN spokesperson in Cyprus Aleem Siddique told CNA, asked about YENİDÜZEN's article on what the UN Secretary General's Special Representative in Cyprus, Colin Stewart, had said during a meeting in New York.

"We reject all allegations of bias as wrong and unfounded. We work closely with both sides impartially," Siddique said.

Meanwhile, CNA has learned that the negotiator of the Greek Cypriot side, Menelaos Menelaou is scheduled to meet on Thursday morning with the Turkish Cypriot leader's special representative, Ergun Olgun. The meeting will also be attended by Stewart.

Asked about the possibility of a farewell dinner between Cyprus President, Nicos Anastasiades, and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, Siddique said that the United Nations expects the two sides to inform them on this issue.

Yeni Duzen’s, Cenk Mutluyakali, said that during a meeting in New York with Scandinavian country representatives of the UN and non-permanent members of the Security Council, Stewart had claimed that "the northern part of Cyprus has now been integrated economically and politically with Turkey. The Greek Cypriot side is the one that needs to act to change the situation. However, all they do is complain, condemn and accuse.”

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.