The newly appointed United Nations (UN) special adviser on Cyprus, Espen Barth Eide, will hold a joint meeting with Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish-Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu in Nicosia on September 17.

The Norwegian envoy has stated that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon wants to see reunification talks progress.

However, the UN’s goal of helping Greek and Turkish Cypriots form a bizonal, bicommunal federation suffered a blow a few days ago when Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan insisted that the only solution is for the island to be split into two states.

Eide, however, tried to remain upbeat by saying that the September 17 meeting would be a sign of progress and that it would signal that “we have entered a new phase”.

The new UN special adviser to Cyprus, who recently succeeded former Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer in this role, did not rule out the possibility that Ban Ki-moon might also hold a joint meeting with President Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Eroglu in New York in the near future.
Espen Barth Eide served as Norway’s minister of defence and as minister of foreign affairs. On 22 August 2014, he was appointed United Nations Special Adviser on Cyprus.