The UN envoy to Cyprus called Thursday for a de-escalation of tension to avert a crisis in reunification talks on the divided island.

"It's no secret that there is a difficult environment surrounding the talks, domestically and internationally," Espen Barth Eide told reporters after meeting President Nicos Anastasiades.

"This is a good time to call on all parties to do their utmost to reduce any kind of tension that can make the talks more problematic; that goes for people here, but also for people in the neighbourhood," he added.

Greek Cypriot leader Anastasiades and his Turkish Cypriot counterpart Mustafa Akinci are far apart on core issues such as power sharing, territorial adjustments, security arrangements and property rights.

The talks are also complicated by a Greek Cypriot presidential election next February and the island's search for oil and gas that Ankara wants stopped until negotiations have reached an outcome.

"What we seek is to find a solution, not find ways to end the dialogue," Anastasiades told reporters, noting that the leaders would meet again on May 17 to "review all pending issues".

The two sides have been engaged in fragile peace talks since May 2015 that observers see as the best chance in years to reunify the island.

Much of the progress until now has been based on the strong personal rapport between Anastasiades and Akinci, leader of the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).

The eastern Mediterranean island has been divided since 1974 when Turkish troops invaded its northern third in response to an Athens-inspired coup seeking union with Greece.

After a failed peace referendum on a UN blueprint in 2004, the Cyprus Republic now headed by Anastasiades joined the EU as a divided country, while the TRNC remains recognised only by Turkey.

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