Turkish Cypriots seek solution before EP election in 2009
Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat said Thursday he would like to see the Cyprus issue solved before European Parliament elections in June 2009.
"The Greek Cypriot side avoids a time frame but we want to set a schedule. I have offered the European Parliament election in June 2009 for which the Greek Cypriot side responded positively," he told a conference in the Aegean city of Izmir.
"Our goal is to solve this problem before the EP elections," he added.
Talat also said Turkey supported the Turkish Cypriots in their efforts to find a settlement to the Cyprus problem.
Cyprus has been divided since 1964 when Turkish Cypriots were forced to withdraw into enclaves.
Talat and his Greek Cypriot counterpart Demetris Christofias in September opened negotiations in a U.N.-brokered bid to reunify the island but the initiative has made little tangible progress.
The launch of negotiations marked the first major push for peace since the failure of a U.N. reunification plan in 2004, which was approved by Turkish Cypriots but overwhelmingly rejected by the Greek Cypriots.
Turkish Daily News
