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UNITED NATIONS (AP) \u2014 The United Nations chief said Thursday that he would have liked more results from his meetings with the rival leaders of divided Cyprus<\/a>, while the Turkish Cypriot leader said he was \u201cvery, very upset\u201d that there was no agreement on opening four new border crossings.<\/p>\n Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the meetings \u201cconstructive\u201d and pointed to progress on four of the six initiatives that the leaders agreed to in March. He cautioned, however, that \u201cthere\u2019s a long road ahead<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n The Mediterranean island was divided in 1974<\/a> when Turkey invaded following a coup by Athens junta-backed supporters of uniting the island with Greece. Only Turkey recognizes a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence, and it maintains more than 35,000 troops in the island\u2019s northern third.<\/p>\n Negotiations between the rivals have been stalled since 2017<\/a>. When asked whether he would start a new round, Guterres responded that there is more to be done before any negotiations. The current talks are \u201ccomplex,\u201d he said, stressing the very different views of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots on a solution.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we are building, step by step, confidence and creating the conditions to do concrete things to the benefit of the Cypriot people,\u201d the secretary-general said.<\/p>\n The agreed-upon, U.N.-endorsed framework for a peace deal has been a reunified Cyprus as a federation composed of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot zones.<\/p>\n Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar has been demanding a two-state deal ever since his 2020 election. He faces reelection in October and says he\u2019s running on the same two-state platform with Ankara\u2019s full backing.<\/p>\n Tatar told reporters after the meeting that \u201cunless our sovereign equality and equal international status is reaffirmed, we will not resume formal negotiations for the resolution of the Cyprus problem.\u201d<\/p>\n Greek Cypriots reject any agreement that would formalize partition, fearing Turkey would seek to control the entire island in light of its demand to maintain a permanent troop presence and military intervention rights in Cyprus. Turkey also insists the minority Turkish Cypriots should have veto rights over all federal government decisions.<\/p>\n Greek Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides did not speak to reporters after the meeting, which included the foreign ministers of guarantor countries Turkey and Greece and a United Kingdom deputy minister.<\/p>\n Despite differences on the future of Cyprus, the rivals have made some progress on trust-building measures.<\/p>\n Guterres told reporters that four initiatives had been achieved: creating a technical committee on youth; initiatives on the environment and climate change, including the impact on mining areas<\/a>; the restoration of cemeteries; and an agreement on demining, where technical details still need to be finalized.<\/p>\n He said discussions will continue on opening four new crossings between the Greek and Turkish sides of the island and on solar energy in the buffer zone between them, which is patrolled by a U.N. peacekeeping force.<\/p>\n Tatar accused Christodoulides of preventing the announcement of the four border crossings on Thursday by insisting that one of them go through the buffer zone, which he called unacceptable to Turkish Cypriots.<\/p>\n He also sharply criticized Greek Cypriots for pursuing legal action over the sale of properties<\/a> in the Turkish Cypriot north, saying the moves \u201care certainly damaging to the relations of the two peoples and are aimed at damaging our economy and our tourism.\u201d<\/p>\n