UN's Bansets sights on Cyprus deal by year's-end

The parties on Cyprus are set to meet on the island through the end of October as well as organize a conference attended by the island's guarantor countries Turkey, Greece and Britain, according to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. In an eight-page report submitted to the UN Security Council this week, Ban set a goal of solving the Cyprus issue by the end of year – a goal supported by Ankara – warning that the longer things drag on, the harder it will be to reach a solution. The report is now pending approval by the Security Council. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said repeatedly that unless a solution is found on the island before the Greek Cypriot administration becomes European Union term president next July, Turkey will freeze its relations with the EU.