UN Secretary-General urges tripartite meeting on Cypriot issue

Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu said on Friday (October 22nd) he had accepted a call from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for a tripartite meeting — to include the Greek Cypriot side — in New York, in a bid to boost momentum in ongoing talks to reunify the island. “We will meet in New York in 15 days, if Greek Cypriot leader Demetris Christofias accepts Ban’s invitation too,” Eroglu told reporters in Nicosia, adding he had no idea whether Christofias had replied to Ban’s invitation. Christofias said separately he would be honoured to meet with Ban, with Eroglu or not. Ban made the request in separate telephone conversations with Eroglu and Christofias late Thursday. Eroglu said his side would like to finalise talks by the end of this year.