Following a meeting with Government Vice-President and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos in Athens, UN Secretary General’s Special Adviser on Cyprus, Espen Barth Eide underlined on Wednesday that he is determined to help the Greek-Cypriot and the Turkish-Cypriot side resume peace negotiations on the Cyprus issue.

Mr. Eide stressed that political will is needed by both sides to restart the negotiations and reiterated his belief that Nicos Anastasiades and Dervis Eroglu are committed to finding a solution for the island of Cyprus.

According to Mr. Eide, the discovery of hydrocarbons is a “huge opportunity” that could prove beneficial for both communities if there’s a mutually acceptable solution. He also noted that stability would help attract investments in the region.

On his part, Mr. Venizelos said he had a long discussion with the UN envoy about the recent Turkish provocations in the Aegean Sea, adding that Greece supports restarting negotiations within the framework of what was agreed upon in February 2014.