NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The rival leaders of ethnically divided Cyprus are meeting for the first time in six months to scope out the chances of resuming stalled reunification negotiations.
Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades, a Greek Cypriot, and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci are meeting Friday at a United Nations compound inside the UN-controlled buffer zone dividing the island-nation into a breakaway Turkish Cypriot north and an internationally recognized Greek Cypriot south.
Before departing for the meeting, Anastasiades said that he's looking to prepare the ground for a resumption of negotiations.
The two leaders will hold a second round of meetings next week with U.N. envoy Jane Holl Lute.
High-level negotiations in Switzerland 16 months ago ended in failure.
