“With the momentum continuing to build for a solution to the long-standing division of the island, the Secretary-General salutes the commitment of the leaders to move forward without delay, in a constructive and dedicated manner,” the UN spokesperson declared in a statement issued early on Friday morning.

The statement said, “The Secretary-General calls on the leaders to seize this opportunity to achieve tangible progress towards a comprehensive settlement that would clearly benefit both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots.”

The negotiations – scheduled to resume on Friday – will be held under the facilitation of the UN Special Adviser, Espen Barth Eide, who recently said that he strongly felt 2015 would be a decisive year and that he hoped it would be a decisive one in the right direction.

In the statement, the spokesperson added that Ban reiterated his commitment to supporting the leaders in their efforts to achieve “a mutually agreed comprehensive settlement” based on the Joint Declaration of 11 February 2014 and in line with the relevant Security Council resolutions.

Photo: UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP)