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Biden Commends Leaders on Resuming Cyprus Reunification Talks

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US Vice President Joe Biden commended over the phone Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci on the agreement they reached to start anew talks on reunification, according to the White House.

A shadow of a boy is seen on a banner showing the Cyprus island with two hands and a pigeon during a peace rally to support the peace talks inside the UN buffer zone Green Line, in the divided capital Nicosia in the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus, Monday, Nov. 21, 2016. Hundreds of Greek and Turkish Cypriots are demonstrating for peace as the ethnically divided island's rival leaders continue complex reunification talks at a Swiss resort. - Sputnik International
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WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — US Vice President Joe Biden commended over the phone Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci on the agreement they reached to start anew talks on reunification, the White House said in a press release.

"The Vice President commended the leaders on the agreement they reached to resume talks in Geneva on January 9 and praised the courage and vision of the leaders that has made possible the progress‎ thus far," the release stated on Friday.

On December 1, the two leaders met at a UN-protected buffer zone on the island and exchanged opinions on potential further steps to resolve the border dispute.

The latest round of UN-backed talks on the reunification of Cyprus failed in late November.

During Friday’s conversation, Biden reiterated US support for the two leaders' efforts to reach a settlement so that Cyprus is reunified as a bi-zonal and bi-communal federation.

Cyprus has been partitioned since 1974, when Turkey occupied the island's northern part, which later proclaiming itself the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Turkey maintains military presence in there.

Anastasiades and Akinci have been involved in the UN-led reunification talks since May 2015.

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