Turkey backs Cyprus federation

Turkey has given its backing to the reunification of Cyprus ahead of talks on the divided island’s future. Support from Ankara was delivered in person by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan who has been meeting with the Turkish Cypriot leader in Nicosia. He described reunification as a federation of two communities which will lead to the creation of a new partnership based on two equal peoples and two founder states. “A solution to the Cyprus problem devised under the auspices of the United Nations will be based on the realities of the island,” he added. The Mediterranean island was partitioned after a Turkish invasion in 1974 in response to a brief Greek-inspired coup, and the north became a breakaway Turkish Cypriot state. Both Greek and Turkish communities support reunification, but there are deep-rooted disagreements,... [read full story]