REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, ANKARA -- Turkey and Greece welcomed the resumption of peace talks in Cyprus, which will be held on May 15, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Tuesday.
Leaders of the estranged Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities of Cyprus agreed to resume peace negotiations on May 15, after a hiatus of almost seven months, the United Nations announced on Monday.
Negotiations were suspended at the end of last October after Turkey sent navy ships and a seismographic ship to explore for natural gas in an area claimed by the eastern Mediterranean island under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The resumption of negotiations between Turkish and Greek Cypriots signifies an important development, said Cavusoglu at a joint press meeting with visiting Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kocias in the Turkish capital of Ankara.
"I would like to express my belief that we will reach a permanent solution this year, if the Greek Cypriots and Greece have a similar will," Cavusoglu said.
As for Kocias, he said the current situation introduced fresh opportunities for a permanent solution to the Cyprus issue.
"Cyprus should be an independent state. It should have good relations with all countries, with no need of guarantor countries, " he said.
United Nations emissary Espen Barth Eide said after hosting a dinner for Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci that they will kick off the negotiations by meeting in person again on Friday.
Eide, acting as special adviser to the UN Secretary General, said that at their Friday's meeting, Anastasiades and Akinci will exchange views on the procedures to be followed during the talks amongst their representatives.
Monday's dinner was the first meeting between Anastasiades, who leads the internationally recognized government of Cyprus and represents the Greek Cypriot community, and Akinci, a moderate politician who gained an electoral victory last month on his promise to actively work for a solution to the Cyprus issue.
The United Nations, now brokering negotiations for over 40 years, as well as several countries, have said that prospects for a Cyprus settlement have brightened up after Akinci's election.
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