UN chief hails 'meaningful progress' in Cyprus talks

GENEVA (Reuters) - United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday talks on the future of Cyprus had made progress for the first time in years, with both sides agreeing a series of initiatives including the opening of crossing points.

"Discussions were held in a constructive atmosphere with both sides showing clear commitment to making progress and continuing dialogue," Guterres told reporters at the end of a two-day meeting in Geneva.

The island was split in a Turkish invasion in 1974 after a brief Greek-inspired coup, following years of sporadic violence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots almost immediately after independence from Britain in 1960. The island is a key source of disagreement between NATO allies Greece and Turkey, fiercely defensive of their respective kin on the island.

As part of new confidence-building measures the two sides agreed to open four crossing points, demining, establish a youth affairs committee, and launch environmental and solar energy projects.

"Today there was meaningful progress," Guterres said, hailing a "new atmosphere" in the multi-year talks which have been deadlocked since 2017.

The two sides agreed to another meeting at the end of July and to a new UN special envoy, he added.

Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar told reporters he was "satisfied" with the "positive" discussions held with his Greek Cypriot counterpart and representatives from Greece, Turkey and Britain.

"We are faced with two options either we continue the way we are with all the repercussions, or build the future of the island together," Tatar said.

"It's a first, positive step towards restarting talks," said Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides. "That's the goal. We aren't there yet, but it's an important first step."

Despite agreeing to confidence building measures, the Greek and Turkish Cypriot sides are still at odds over how any settlement will work.

Greek Cypriots want a federation, a model prescribed by U.N. resolutions, while Turkish Cypriots advocate for a two-state solution, arguing that decades of failed negotiations have proven a federal model unworkable.

Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis underscored the importance of ongoing dialogue, despite differences.

"The only solution is the reunification of the island," he said.

(Reporting by Emma Farge and Olivia Le Poidevin; Editing by Rachel More, Alexandra Hudson)