Fourth tour of Cpris talks concluded

After two days of meetings with Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Dervis Eroglu and Greek Cypriot administration leader Dimitris Christofias as part of the fourth session of bilateral talks in New York, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said yesterday that he would throw together the both sides again in New York in January and that he expected a deal at that time. He added that an important progress was made in fields of economy, EU issues and domestic security, but that less progress was made in important issues such as administration, property, territory and citizenship. Speaking in her part, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the US supported the UN's mediation on the issue, adding that the Greek Cypriot administration had the right to explore natural resources in its exclusive economic zone, but that the two sides on the island should benefit from common resources as part of a general agreement.