British defence minister Philip Hammond said he was confident about peace talks in Cyprus that seek to resolve the dispute between Greek and Turkish Cypriots., reports Reuters.
Speaking to reporters in Athens, Mr Hammond said,
“I’ve made several visits to Cyprus over the last few months, meeting members of both communities, and I am optimistic that we may be on the brink of a breakthrough in resolving this dispute.”
“If the two communities in Cyprus agree a model that requires Britain to paly no role, we will be quite happy to play no role. If the model they develop requires Britain to play a role, then we are happy to consider playing any role the two communities ask us. What we want is to see a sustainable solution in Cyprus and we will do everything in our power to bring that about.”
Cyprus divided during the Turkish invasion in 1974 with the country split by a ceasefire line monitored by Untied Nations peacekeepers.
Speaking to reporters in Athens, Mr Hammond said,
“I’ve made several visits to Cyprus over the last few months, meeting members of both communities, and I am optimistic that we may be on the brink of a breakthrough in resolving this dispute.”
“If the two communities in Cyprus agree a model that requires Britain to paly no role, we will be quite happy to play no role. If the model they develop requires Britain to play a role, then we are happy to consider playing any role the two communities ask us. What we want is to see a sustainable solution in Cyprus and we will do everything in our power to bring that about.”
Cyprus divided during the Turkish invasion in 1974 with the country split by a ceasefire line monitored by Untied Nations peacekeepers.