"The Secretary-General welcomes the resumption of full-fledged negotiations between the Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades and the Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci scheduled for 15 May 2015 under the facilitation of his Special Adviser, Espen Barth Eide," the United Nations said in a statement published on its website late on Thursday.
Ban Ki-moon also reiterated his commitment to supporting the two leaders in their efforts to achieve comprehensive settlement to the decades-long conflict based on a joint declaration agreed by the sides in February 2014.
According to the declaration, the sides agreed to resume negotiations to create a united Cyprus federation, which would a bi-communal, bi-zonal state.
The fresh round of talks, set to start later on Friday, comes days after the two Cypriot leaders attended an official dinner, on Monday, where both expressed "their strong commitment to move forward in a constructive and dedicated manner."
The island, which is part of the European Union, has been effectively divided since 1974 after Turkey invaded Cyprus following a Greece-inspired coup, that was aimed at uniting the island with Greece.
