NICOSIA, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Cyprus has suggested to the United Nations (UN) a process of shuttle diplomacy as a means of breaking the impasse in the eastern Mediterranean island's reunification negotiations, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said on Friday.
"The suggestion I put forward to the UN Secretary-General is the engagement in shuttle diplomacy to evaluate whether the necessary conditions are in place to convene a new conference on Cyprus," Anastasiades told a gathering of EU ambassadors in Nicosia.
He added that he made the proposal when he met UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the UN headquarters in September.
The parties in the Cyprus negotiations have so far failed to reach an agreement on ending the partition of the island and reintegrate Turkish Cypriots who have been living in the part of the island occupied by Turkish troops since 1974.
Turkey's move came in reaction to a coup by the military rulers of Greece at the time.
"The end of the conference is not the end of the process for us...It is our determination to continue this process at the point it was interrupted," said Anastasiades.
He added that the shuttle diplomacy he suggested could be undertaken "either by the UN or renowned personalities, or even third countries which are generally acceptable by all parties as impartial, such as collectively the members of the Security Council".
Guterres said he stood ready to call a new conference and even preside over it after the main players -- the Greek and Turkish Cypriots -- had asked for it.
However, there is at least a three-month dead period until Greek Cypriots elect a new president and Turkish Cypriots hold their legislative elections in separate votes scheduled early next year.
Anastasiades, who says his only ambition is to see the Cyprus problem being solved, is seeking a second term.
