Atalay: "If a peace deal is reached by year's-end, Cyprus could hold a referendum next january"

If a peace agreement is reached on Cyprus by year's-end, then a referendum could be held on the deal in early 2012, said Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay yesterday. "The Cyprus issue is a huge and problematic one, an important issue for us," Atalay said in the province of Kirikkale, when asked about his visit there last week to mark the 37th anniversary of the Cyprus Peace Operation. "Contacts are still going on under UN auspices. There are planned meetings. Our expectations are towards reaching a solution by the end of this year, and at the end of these meetings clearly having a solution which satisfies both sides. Then there should be a referendum in January (2012) on both sides." The last referendum on a Cyprus peace deal, in 2004, passed in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) but was rejected in Greek Cyprus, resulting in the latter joining the European Union illicitly representing the entire island.