Official: Cyprus peace talks fail to reach agreement

A U.N police peacekeeper stands guards at a main Ladras or Lokmaci crossing point that connect the Greek Cypriot south and the Turkish Cypriots breakaway north, during a peace protest inside the U.N buffer zone in central divided capital , Nicosia, Cyprus, Thursday, July 6, 2017. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is seeking to inject some momentum in peace talks aimed at reunifying the ethnically divided Mediterranean island of Cyprus. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias) A U.N police peacekeeper stands guards at a main Ladras or Lokmaci crossing point that connect the Greek Cypriot south and the Turkish Cypriots breakaway north, during a peace protest inside the U.N buffer zone in central divided capital , Nicosia, Cyprus, Thursday, July 6, 2017. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is seeking to inject some momentum in peace talks aimed at reunifying the ethnically divided Mediterranean island of Cyprus. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

By Associated Press July 6, 2017 1 min read

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) – An official says high-level talks to reunify ethnically divided Cyprus failed to reach a deal amid Turkey’s insistence to keep its troops on the island and to maintain the right to militarily intervene.

The official said negotiators on Friday also failed to agree on how much territory would make up the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot zones in an envisioned federation. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he’s not authorized to disclose details of the sensitive meeting.

He also said Turkey also insisted that any peace accord must grant Turkish nationals the right to relocate and transfer money, services and goods to a reunified Cyprus.

Marathon negotiations have been held in the presence of U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana.