A MEETING between Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders ended without an agreement on Monday.

Both sides failed to reach a decision on a deal aimed at building trust that included opening new crossing points across a United Nations-controlled buffer zone.

Nicos Christodoulides, the island’s Greek Cypriot president, and Ersin Tatar, leader of the Turkish Cypriots, said in a joint statement that they have instructed their representatives to continue talks and that they would meet in the coming days.

The leaders met for nearly two hours at the official residence of Colin Stewart, head of the UN peacekeeping mission in Cyprus, to hammer out an agreement on opening new crossing points along a 120-mile buffer zone that cuts across the island.

But the meeting ended without announcing any such points.

They affirmed in the joint statement that they “both believe that opening of new crossing points is critical to promote people-to-people contacts, strengthen economic ties and build trust.”

The key dispute appears to be over the location of the points.

Mr Christodoulides said after the meeting that Mr Tatar rejected a specific crossing-point location and wasn’t ready to agree on a package of eight trust-building initiatives including the setting up of joint committees on youth affairs, as well as a truth and reconciliation commission.

“Everything depends on when the Turkish side is ready,” Mr Christodoulides said.

A follow-up meeting between the two sides is due in February.

People on both sides of the divide want to see more points opened to speed up their commutes across the partition, created after the 1974 coup supported by the Greek military junta, after which Turkey invaded, taking control of the north of the island.