UK Minister: Turkey plays important role in Cyprus solution

BRITISH Minister for Europe David Lidington has stressed that Turkey has an important role to play in making progress towards a political settlement in Cyprus.

Lidington’s statement was included in a letter to the President of the National Federation of Cypriots in the UK Peter Drousiotis to thank him for his letter of congratulations on his appointment as a Minister for Europe.

The British Minister expresses his belief that “a settlement in Cyprus is in the best interests of both Cypriot communities and offers the best future for the island”.

He says that he is fully supportive of the efforts that Cyprus President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu are making to a achieve a negotiated settlement.

Lidington urges all sides to make the necessary compromises and for all Cypriots not to let this opportunity slip, expressing at the same time the hope that 2010 will be the year that “we see a solution in Cyprus”.

In addition, he agrees that Turkey too has an important role to play in making progress towards a settlement in Cyprus, adding that he wants to see Turkey as a member of the EU bringing benefits to Europe, the region and the UK.

“The reforms being made by Turkey as part of its EU accession process are encouraging and active support for a solution in Cyprus is an important part of this process”, he adds.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.