NICOSIA, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Cyprus peace process can only be revived by the two Cypriot community leaders, a UN official said on Thursday.
"What I am saying -- and I think the leaders agree with -- is that talks will not be resurrected by the UN. The resurrection will have to happen through agreement by the sides," the UN Secretary General's special adviser on Cyprus Espen Barth Eide said.
"If they agree, the Secretary General is there," he added.
Eide was talking after farewell meetings with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, representing the Greek Cypriots, and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci, before handing in his mandate.
Eide will return to his native Norway to contest a parliamentary seat in elections in September.
He indicated that restarting the peace negotiating process would not be an easy task, as the United Nations is not planning an initiative. However, the Secretary General, who has a Security Council mandate of good services, remains available to act if the sides want it.
"But the decision has to be made here ... and the international community now needs to be convinced there is a real intent to try again," Eide noted.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres declared that the negotiating process had come to an end on July 7, after an agreement on security arrangements was not be reached.
He said that the sides have time to reflect on the outcome and prospects before embarking on a renewed process.
In two years of talks, Anastasiades and Akinci had removed deep rooted differences which persisted four decades.
Turkish troops occupied the northern part of Cyprus in 1974 in reaction to a coup by the military rulers of Greece at the time.
Withdrawal of troops and the termination of a 1960 Treaty of Guarantee was at the center of disagreements at the final session of the conference in Switzerland.
Eide's farewell reception was an opportunity for a meeting between Anastasiades and Akinci after the collapse of their negotiations.
Anastasiades has said he is ready to restart negotiations within a framework set by Guterres.
