NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Nicosia’s swanky nightclubs, bohemian cafes and crowded bars sit just steps away from guard posts, barbed wire and sandbags marking one of Europe’s last frozen conflicts.
A United Nations-controlled buffer zone cuts through the Cypriot capital’s medieval center, separating breakaway Turkish Cypriots in the north from Greek Cypriots in the internationally recognized south.
The island has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded following a Greek-backed military coup whose leaders aimed to unite the island with Greece.
Despite several crossings where vehicles and pedestrians can cross to either side, Nicosia remains Europe’s last divided capital where soldiers still stand guard on both sides.
Inside the no-man’s land, bullet-pocked homes and shuttered businesses are crumbling after years of neglect. Only patrolling U.N. soldiers are generally allowed access.
Repeated U.N.-mediated talks aimed at mending the island’s division over the decades have collapsed.
The last major push for a deal, involving the foreign ministers of the island’s three guarantor powers — Greece, Turkey and Britain — nearly a decade ago.
Now, is visiting the island in one of his final acts before leaving office, hoping to get both sides to formally resume peace talks.
He is scheduled to meet separately Tuesday with President Nikos Christodoulides, a Greek Cypriot, and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman before holding a joint meeting Wednesday.
The goal is to build momentum for an informal meeting later this year with top Greek, Turkish and British officials where it’s hoped that revived peace talks will be announced.
The path to a settlement is considered difficult, with positions hardening over the years.
But an agreement in Cyprus could ease tensions in a turbulent region where competing interests over energy, territory and influence intersect.
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