Amid the failure of the long-running negotiations between the Turkish Cypriot president and his Greek counterpart to reunify the ethnically-divided Cyprus, the United Nations' Special Envoy for Cyprus Espen Barth Eide on May 26 announced that the shuttle diplomacy between the Cypriot leaders was unable to produce any results. While Ankara has voiced its support for continuing the negotiations between the leaders of the two sides, both Greek and Turkish Cypriot people voiced support for reunification talks with a protest in Nicosia.

"Unfortunately, despite serious efforts to overcome their differences regarding the modalities for meeting in Geneva, the leaders were unable to find common ground," Espen Barth Eide had said in a written statement on Friday. "Without a prospect for common ground, there is no basis for continuing this shuttle diplomacy," he had added. Commenting on this issue, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ambassador Hüseyin Müftüoğlu said on Saturday that the conference on Cyprus must reconvene without any precondition.

"Our view is that the preconditions put forth by Greek Cypriot Leader Mr. Anastasiades for reconvening the Conference on Cyprus are contrary to the principles of the Leaders' Joint Declaration of Feb. 11, 2014, that all issues 'will be discussed interdependently' and that 'nothing is agreed on until everything is agreed on.' They are likewise not in keeping with the statement from the Conference on Cyprus dated Jan. 12, 2017."

Foreign Ministry Hüseyin Spokesperson Müftüoğlu, in a written statement on May 27, said, "Turkey expects the Conference on Cyprus to be able to reconvene without any preconditions, in keeping with the understanding in the Leaders' Joint Declaration dated Feb. 11, 2014, and in accordance with the methodology that was foreseen, but not implemented for the first conference, namely with all chapters being addressed together, as also expressed by President Akıncı in his statements."

The reunification talks, which have been taking place under the auspices of U.N. Special Envoy for Cyprus Espen Barth Eide, were launched in May 2015 to discuss a permanent settlement for the divided Mediterranean island.

At the request of Greek Cypriot leader Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akıncı, Eide spent the last nine days shuttling between the two sides in an attempt to agree on the framework for a second international conference in Geneva.

However, Eide, on May 26, announced that there was no reason to continue since there was "no prospect" for agreement on the summit's details.

Cyprus was divided into a Turkish Cypriot state in the north and a Greek Cypriot administration in the south after an Enosis-inspired 1974 military coup was followed by violence against the island's Turkish population, and Turkey's intervention as a guarantor power. The status of the island remains unresolved in spite of a series of discussions that resumed in May 2015.

The leaders met several times in Geneva last year, but their last meeting in February was wracked by controversy over a Greek Cypriot decision to introduce a commemoration of the 1950 Enosis referendum on unification with Greece.

The UN envoy stated that he would now confer with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres over what comes next.

Turkish, Greek Cypriots call for reunification with linked arms

A group of Greek and Turkish Cypriots linked arms on Saturday across a U.N.-controlled buffer zone cutting across the ethnically divided island's capital of Nicosia to voice their support for a reunification agreement, calling for an urgent solution in the peace talks.

Participants, coming from both north and south Nicosia, said real peace lies in the hands of ordinary people from both sides of the divide, as the Mediterranean island's reunification talks appear to be faltering.

The group, which protested the stalling talks by beating drums, blowing whistles and singing traditional Cypriot folk songs, said Saturday's event was to remind politicians not to let ordinary people down.

During the event organized by the organization "Unite Cyprus Now," participants held placards reading "Solution Now," "United Cyprus Now," "Keep promises, unite Cyprus," and chanted slogans for peace, and statements were made in both the Greek and Turkish languages.

Speaking on behalf of Unite Cyprus Now, Esra Aydın said, "You come here by listening to the voice of your heart. This is the real power. Here, we know that the only safe and prosperous future will be with a united Cyprus. We are here as Cypriots."

"It is the only way to have a better future, a safe future, a future of prosperity. The other way, that of partition, will only take us down dangerous paths," Aydın added.

The eastern Mediterranean island has been divided since 1974, when a Greek coup was followed by violence against the island's Turkish population, and Ankara intervened to protect them.

Andreas Lordos said the rally "began days ago in support of the two leaders' talks, but people eventually saw a play they had seen before," according to report on Cyprus Mail Online.

"It is strange for two leaders who agree on the need for a solution, and who say that nothing has been agreed unless everything has been agreed, to rank issues and say that unless this order is followed we will get nowhere," Lordos said.

Akıncı: Efforts fail due to Greek Cypriot leader's stance

Following Eide's statement, Akıncı blamed the failure to reach agreement on the Greek Cypriot side.

"It was told us as of today that insisting on preconditions is an official approach of the Greek side. We do not have a position of accepting preconditions," Akıncı told reporters in Nicosia.

Anastasiades's insistence on preconditions and driving the negotiations have also been linked with the rising far-right populist attitude as well as his concerns over being re-elected in the upcoming elections in 2018.

"The stance of Anastasiades is against the conference declaration announced on Jan. 12," he said. "At this point, Eide's efforts have not produced a result because Anastasiades is continuing his same stance."

According to Cyprus Mail, a recent poll has shown that a majority of those who saw President Nicos Anastasiades's address last week on the progress of the settlement talks, believe he has changed his stance due to the presidential elections. According to the survey conducted by IMR on behalf of Sigmalive, 53 percent said they were either not quite convinced or not convinced at all by the positions presented by the president. In addition, six out of every 10 people believe that Anastasiades has changed his stance due to the upcoming presidential elections in January 2018, the survey results showed.