Erdogan says Turkey sincere about wanting Cyprus solution

Turkey is sincere about contributing to the current reunification talks in Cyprus and will do what it can to assist the process, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday.

He was speaking  at the Brookings Institution. Erdogan also met US Vice President Joe Biden. The meeting, which lasted around 30 minutes, took place on the sidelines of a nuclear summit in Washington.

According to a translation of his remarks, Erdogan said a comprehensive settlement on Cyprus is possible by the end of the year, provided the Greek Cypriot side is sincere and serious about the drive.

The Turkish leader said a solution would yield several benefits, including possible cooperation on energy projects between neighbours Turkey and Cyprus.

Turkey is the ‘mother country’ of the Turkish Cypriots and a guarantor power for Cyprus, Erdogan said, adding that a settlement must safeguard the rights of all Cypriots.

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.