Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar meets UN chief in New York

President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Ersin Tatar on Saturday met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the sidelines of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

The two exchanged views on the Cyprus issue, according to a statement by the UN.

Tatar on Monday will attend a tripartite meeting and will meet with Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades at a luncheon to be hosted by the UN secretary-general.

Cyprus has been mired in a decades-long dispute between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the UN to achieve a comprehensive settlement.

Ethnic attacks starting in the early 1960s forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety.

In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece's annexation led to Turkey's military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. As a result, the TRNC was founded in 1983.