Spanish EU Council Presidency to revive Cyprus peace talks: PM Sanchez

Nicosia, April 5 (IANS) Spain will take an initiative to restart the stalled Cyprus peace negotiations when it takes up the rotating six-month Presidency of the Council of the EU on July 1, the country's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has said during his working visit here.At a joint press conference with Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides, Sanchez on Tuesday added that Spain's initiative would focus on a solution provided for by numerous UN resolutions and on international law."Cyprus can rely on us on this issue. We'll take an initiative for the restart of the dialogue between the parties," he said.Christodoulides said he was pleased with Sanchez's statements and that he looked forward to a positive result, as Spain has a good relationship with Turkey, Xinhua news agency reported.He added that they also discussed the Spanish EU Council Presidency's other priorities, which include energy, immigration, the Ukraine crisis, the fiscal crisis EU countries are faced with and the bloc's strategic autonomy.Cyprus was partitioned when Turkey sent troops to intervene in the island's northern part in 1974 in response to a coup staged by the military rulers of Greece at the time. Several UN-led efforts to negotiate an agreement for the divided island have been inconclusive till date.
--IANS int/khz/

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