UN chief praises progress in Cyprus talks

Greek Cypriot administration leader Dimitris Christofias and Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Mehmet Ali Talat have made the most significant progress in three decades in talks to reunify the divided island, said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon yesterday. "I hope that they will be able to finish their negotiations as soon as possible," he told a news conference. "We will continue to support their efforts." After decades of failed peace initiatives, Talat and Christofias launched reunification talks last September. Negotiations have so far failed to resolve key differences over power-sharing, property and the future of 35,000 Turkish troops currently stationed in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), but Ban was upbeat. "During the last 30-year-long conflict period, I think we have seen in the last several months the most encouraging developments of the situation through very frequent bilateral talks between the two leaders," he said. "And they have made significant progress, which we have not been able to see during the last three decades," he added.