Cicek: "Turkey and Turkish Cypriots both want a solution on Cyprus"

Both Turkey and Turkish Cypriots favor a resolution on Cyprus, often in the face of longstanding Greek Cypriot intransigence, said State Minister Cemil Cicek yesterday. Speaking at the groundbreaking for a new medical school and hospital in Lefkosha, the capital of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Cicek criticized countries that have yet to recognize the TRNC. Underlining that Turkey and Turkish Cypriots both favor a just settlement on the decades-long divided island, Cicek pointed to the Greek Cypriots as being responsible for the deadlock on the island. He also urged the Turkish Cypriots to act in unity to work to further develop their country. Cicek was accompanied on his visit by Board of Higher Education (YOK) head Yusuf Ziya Ozcan and fellow parliamentarians.