UN invites divided Cyprus’ leaders to a social

The two community leaders of divided Cyprus will mark the end of 2022 next month during a social event hosted in the UN buffer zone, with the encounter taking place at a time when chances for new peace talks range from slim to none.

Local media said President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar are scheduled to meet at a social event in December to mark the end of 2022.

This would be the first time the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders would meet face to face since their last encounter back in April, when Anastasiades and Tatar met at the old Nicosia airport inside the UN buffer zone.

But the two men and their respective communities have been drifting further apart in recent months.

Anastasiades has called on European and international allies to condemn efforts by the Turkish Cypriot north to become a recognized entity, with the Greek Cypriot leader also asking Berlin during a visit this week to help jumpstart negotiations for a federal solution.

Tatar, who accuses the Greek Cypriot south of not being sincere in seeking a federal solution, has been cranking up rhetoric in support of equal sovereignty, an alternative basis for a settlement to the Cyprus Problem favored by Ankara.

The Turkish Cypriot leader has also accused the south, an EU and UN member, of arm twisting countries not to recognize the north, which is only recognized by Turkey.

"In fact, because of the threats they are facing, friendly nations are hesitant to recognize the TRNC," Tatar said.

The meeting in December will be hosted by United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus.

UNFICYP was established in March 1964 in an attempt to prevent the recurrence of interethnic violence between the two major ethnic communities on the island.

Turkish troops landed on Cyprus in July 1974 after a short-lived Greek-inspired coup, further cementing the division and expanding the UN buffer zone, known as Green Line, from east to west across the island.