“We are hoping to reach a settlement in Cyprus in 2016. Turkey’s side is ready,” Turkey FM

Turkey and the United States agreed recently that a political settlement may be possible this year 2016 in Cyprus for a possible re-unification of the divided Island.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu met U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Washington recently, and both diplomats were upbeat about chances for a deal.

“We have also some good news from the eastern part of the Mediterranean, I mean Cyprus,” Cavusoglu was quoted as saying.

“We are hoping to reach a settlement in Cyprus in 2016. Turkey’s side is ready,” he said, confirming for the first time that a deal is possible this year.

On his part, Kerry said that he “couldn’t agree more”. “We are very deeply committed to and involved in the talks on Cyprus,” said Kerry, adding that both he and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden had recently visited the island.

“We have met with the folks on both sides as well as individual countries and we are going keep pushing very, very hard towards a resolution of the Cyprus crisis”, Kerry added.

Credit: Hurriyet News