Lute is meeting both leaders separately in order to prepare the ground for reunification talks. (Stavros Ioannides/Cyprus' Press and Information Office via AP)NICOSIA – U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres intends to meet next month with ethnically split Cyprus’ rival Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders to gauge whether conditions are ripe to resume dormant peace talks, the Cypriot government spokesman said on Monday. Kyriakos Koushos didn’t provide a specific date for the informal February meeting that will also bring together top officials from Cyprus’ three "guarantors" — Greece, Turkey and Britain. Koushos was speaking after U.N. envoy Jane Holl Lute met with Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades to prepare for the meeting that’s seen as the linchpin to restarting negotiations. Turkey’s research vessels — escorted by warships — continue to search for hydrocarbons in waters where Cyprus claims exclusive economic rights.

Erdogan appeared to throw a fresh bid to restart dormant Cyprus reunification talks into doubt, saying that a two-state deal rather than the long-established federal formula is the way forward. “A two-state solution must be discussed and negotiated on the bases of sovereign equality,” said Erdogan, who accused Greek Cypriots of sabotaging progress. Only Turkey recognizes a breakaway Turkish Cypriot state in the north where it maintains more than 35,000 troops. The island’s internationally-recognized government seated in the island’s Greek Cypriot south accused Erdogan of dynamiting U.N.-led attempts for a return to peace talks. The peace group Unite Cyprus Now said both Greek and Turkish Cypriots are united in their denunciation of the Turkish president’s “provocative” visit to Varosha.