Turkish Cypriot leader meets UN chief in New York

By Betul Yuruk

NEW YORK (AA) - President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Ersin Tatar on Saturday met with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on the sidelines of the 76th session of UN General Assembly in New York.

The two exchanged views on the Cyprus issue, according to a statement by the UN.

Tatar on Monday will attend a tripartite meeting and will meet with Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades at a luncheon to be hosted by the UN secretary general.

Cyprus has been mired in a decades-long dispute between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the UN to achieve a comprehensive settlement.

Ethnic attacks starting in the early 1960s forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety.

In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece's annexation led to Turkey's military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. As a result, the TRNC was founded in 1983.