NICOSIA, July 25 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has invited the leaders of the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities to meet him at the UN Headquarters in September, to talk about a solution to the Cyprus issue, sources from the two sides said on Thursday.
State radio, quoting government sources, said that Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades"gladly accepted" an invitation of Guterres for a tripartite meeting after the UN General Assembly.
A Turkish Cypriot spokesman said the leader of the community, Mustafa Akinci, also accepted the invitation and quoted Guterres as expressing his satisfaction for an upcoming meeting of the two leaders in Cyprus next month to discuss ways of resuming the stalled Cyprus peace talks.
He also quoted the secretary general as telling Akinci that an informal five party meeting on Cyprus which the two leaders have accepted has to be carefully prepared.
The invitations for a tripartite meeting in New York came during separate telephone conversations Guterres had with the two leaders overnight on Wednesday.
His joint meeting with Anastasiades and Akinci will come after a meeting between the two in Cyprus, in the presence of the UN representative in Cyprus, on August 9.
"The UN Secretary General said that he looks forward to the President's meeting with the Turkish Cypriot leader on August 9 and reiterated that he is absolutely committed in the prospect of resumption of talks for the Cyprus problem's settlement, adding that he will remain in touch for the next steps," government Spokesman Prodromos Prodromou said.
