United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has praised the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders for the "significant progress" made under United Nations-backed talks on reunifying Cyprus.
 
Ban arrived on the island on January 31 2010, his first visit to Cyprus, in an attempt to lend weight to the negotiations process.
 
Cyprus has been divided since the 1970s, with a "Republic of Northern Cyprus" – the Turkish-occupied segment, recognised as a state solely by Turkey – existing as a long-standing issue complicating the situation for Cyprus, an EU member state, and confounding already troubled bilateral relations between Greece and Turkey, as well as Turkey’s EU aspirations.

In 2008, Greek Cypriot leader Dimitris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat committed to establishing a federal government with a single international personality, along with a Turkish Cypriot constituent state and a Greek Cypriot constituent state, each of equal status.

"I am under no illusions that the Cyprus problem is easy to solve, or about the difficulties that you face," Mr. Ban said on his arrival at Larnaca Airport, the UN News Service said. "At the same time, I am confident that a solution is possible and within reach."

In December, the UN Security Council extended by six months the mandate UN peacekeeping mission in Cyprus (UNFICYP), which was set up in 1964 to prevent further fighting between the communities. After hostilities erupted again in 1974, its responsibilities were expanded to supervise ceasefire lines, maintain a buffer zone and undertake humanitarian activities.

Ban said that he was impressed by the time and energy invested by the two leaders over the past 16 months during the fully-fledged negotiations on reunification of the island.

"I am pleased by the significant progress that has been achieved recently on governance and power-sharing," he said in remarks commending the efforts of Christofias and Talat.

"I am here to encourage the two leaders to bring these talks to a successful conclusion," he said, noting that reaching a "mutually acceptable solution will require courage, flexibility and vision, as well as a spirit of compromise.

"You are the ones driving the process and the ones who will benefit from the tremendous benefits and opportunities a settlement would bring to this island," Ban said.

During his three-day visit to Cyprus, Ban is slated to hold discussions with Alexander Downer, his Special Adviser for Cyprus, as well as with Christofias and Talat.

However, the BBC said on February 1, there are concerns that talks could be shelved if Talat, who is seen as a moderate, loses the April 18 2010 leadership election in northern Cyprus to nationalist candidate Dervis Eroglu, who is currently leading in opinion polls. Eroglu, a hardliner, supports the formation of two separate states.