By Fatih Erel

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland

Turkish Cypriot President Mustafa Akinci on Friday criticized the Greek Cypriot side for the failure of last-ditch reunification talks.

"This chance we lost might hardly ever come again.” Akinci told reporters of the failed talks in the Swiss Alps. "Unfortunately, we couldn't manage to complete the last trial of our generation to reunify the island successfully. 

Criticizing the Greek side for the failure, Akinci said while the Turkish side was willing to take steps to cutting the number of troops on the island, from the first day of the talks the Greek Cypriot side began with a “zero-troops” position.

The collapse was not only about the presence of Turkish soldiers on the island, Akinci said.

"This is not the end of the world. We will find a way to live with honor. We will manage this,” he said.

On the idea of a rotating presidency, Akinci said the Greek Cypriot side was against the idea but signaled it could accept it if the Turkish Cypriot side accepted zero troops being on the island.

Despite the failure, Akinci was optimistic. "Let's return to Cyprus to talk about what our next plan will be. We only came here with plan A to reunify the island," he said.

The U.S. State Department issued a statement that said despite the collapse of the talks, it would back efforts to reach an agreement.

"The United States will continue to support efforts to reunify the island as a bizonal, bicommunal federation, which would benefit all Cypriots,” it said.

'Disappointing outcome'

Speaking after the conference, British Minister of State for Europe and the Americas Alan Duncan said: "This is a disappointing outcome. The U.K. continues to be a strong supporter of a settlement. Now is a time for calm reflection and consideration of future steps. The commitment of the U.K. to a deal on Cyprus remains unwavering.

"Unfortunately, the Cyprus talks in Crans-Montana failed despite all the efforts," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters on Friday. "It was the last conference and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also said he concluded this conference.”

Representatives from the EU, the Turkish and Greek Cypriot leaderships, and the guarantor nations of Turkey, Greece and Britain participated in the intense discussions that began at the end of last month. If there had been a positive atmosphere, Cavusoglu said the prime ministers of the guarantor nations would have been invited to the talks.

But now Turkey has to assess and decide its next steps to resolve the Cyprus issue, he said.

UN chief 'deeply sorry'

Antonio Guterres on Thursday returned to Switzerland for the talks after leaving the Swiss resort Saturday, having taken part in earlier rounds of discussion. Guterres returned at the urging of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in an effort to speed up the talks.

Guterres said he was "deeply sorry" that "despite the very strong commitment of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities, the guarantor power, the European Union and the United Nations Cyprus team, the Conference on Cyprus was concluded without an agreement being reached.

"The conference is closed. That does not mean that other initiatives cannot be developed in order to address the Cyprus problem,” he added.

The UN is seeking a peace deal to unite Cyprus under a federal umbrella that could also define the future of Europe's relations with Turkey, a key player in the conflict.

The Eastern Mediterranean island has been divided since 1974, when a Greek Cypriot coup was followed by violence against the island's Turks, and Ankara's intervention as a guarantor power.