Joe Biden: “1 year ago this month, the United Nations Under Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Ibrahim Gambari, presided over…”

“1 year ago this month, the United Nations Under Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Ibrahim Gambari, presided over a joint meeting between the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Tassos Papadopoulos, and the head of the Turkish Cypriot community, Mehmet Ali Talat. Their discussions reaffirmed a commitment by both sides to forge a lasting peace on Cyprus and push forward with talks to that end. In the months since that meeting, the Cypriot peace process has stagnated. The talks that both sides agreed to never took place, and petty disputes over bureaucratic issues have stymied progress on substantive negotiations. Simply put, the people of Cyprus deserve better. A generation of Cypriots has now grown to adulthood estranged from their peaceful shared history and their promising shared destiny. I believe we must correct this wrong before others on the island endure a similar fate. Unless the peace process begins to move at a much faster pace, that may not happen. In the last few days, there have been some signs of progress but also troubling indications that the paralysis of the past year might continue. President Papadopoulos invited Mr. Talat to discuss the peace process, a significant step in the right direction. However, Mr. Talat--after first accepting the invitation--later claimed that it was not the right time for a meeting. I sincerely hope he will change his view and that the resulting discussions will yield real results.”