World Bulletin / News Desk

 Cyprus peace talks came to a sudden halt on Thursday after an apparent walkout by Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Anastasiades.

Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Mustafa Akinci said Thursday's unification talks ended abruptly when Anastasiades angrily walked out of the room.

Speaking to reporters following his meeting with the Greek Cypriot leader -- hosted by the UN in Lefkosa -- Akinci said:

"After Anastasiades finished his speech, the UN adviser on Cyprus [Espen Barth] Eide took the floor to summarize the issue. The Greek Cypriot leader angrily said: 'I have nothing to say' and slammed the door. There was nothing left to do at that point," Akinci said.

Akinci said Anastasiades had behaved impulsively in the past. The Turkish Cypriot leader also said respect was key to sustaining the discussions.

"It was not possible to tolerate it. The most important condition to sustain that meeting is to show respect to the people in the meeting," Akinci said, adding that the Greek Cypriot leader was "free to reopen the slammed door".

The unification talks between Turkish and Greek Cypriot negotiators were canceled on Tuesday over a Greek Cypriot move to honor “Enosis,” or the idea of the island being annexed by Greece.

Last Friday, the Greek Cypriot parliament voted to introduce a yearly public school commemoration of a 1950 referendum in which Greek Cypriots voted overwhelmingly for Athens to take over the island.

On Monday, Mustafa Akinci had asked Espen Barth Eide to urge Anastasiades not to approve the Enosis decision.

The eastern Mediterranean island was divided into a Turkish Cypriot state in the north and a Greek Cypriot administration in the south after a 1974 military coup was followed by the intervention of Turkey as a guarantor power.

Cypriot issues remain unsolved despite a series of discussions which resumed in May 2015.

The main goal is to find a political solution as the sides seek to reunify the island under a federal system after more than 40 years of division.

Cyprus’ three guarantors -- Turkey, Greece and the United Kingdom -- were assigned when it gained independence from Britain in 1960.