Military history of Cyprus

An official says talks between the heads of Cyprus? Christian and Muslim communities and the leaders of the ethnically split island?s Greek- and Turkish-speaking communities give ?great hope? that religion can better contribute to peace.

The United Nations senior official on Cyprus has expressed he was more ?optimistic and hopeful? for ongoing talks between the Turkish and Greek Cypriot leaders compared to previous negotiations between the two parties. 

A senior United Nations official for Cyprus held meetings in Ankara with Turkish officials on Aug. 13 amid cautious optimism about a possible deal to reunify the island.

Should Turkish Cypriots try to defend their own interests even if that amounts to hurting Turkey's interests? Or should they defend Turkish interests even if that requires their own interests be sacrificed? This is not an egg and chicken story, but a very serious issue that deserves a very serious evaluation. The question is of course also related to who the Turkish Cypriots are.

An allegory by Christos Michaelides, the chairman of the Greek Cyprus? top business body, who told Hürriyet Daily News that the divided island can become to Turkey what Hong Kong is to China if peace is achieved, has sparked controversy and criticism. 

It was not so much a straw in the wind as a cheese in the wind. It's a chewy, salty cheese that is delicious grilled: halloumi, as they call it in the Greek-speaking Republic of Cyprus, or hellim, as it is known in the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus.

I know quite a number of Turkish elites who, frustrated with developments in Turkey, decided to settle in Turkish Cyprus over the course of the last decade. 

Following the failure of the 2004 Annan plan, I had found this choice a bit odd, as pessimism reigned over Turkish Cyprus. 

Turkey is displaying a largely hands-off attitude to the current Cyprus negotiations, according to Turkish Cypriot Foreign Minister Emine Çolak. Turkey's stance at the moment is devoid of any manipulation or interference, she says Ankara is allowing the two sides in the Cyprus dispute to pursue negotiations to unify the island in peace, according to the north's foreign minister.

Perhaps time has come to try to convince the two peoples of Cyprus that what the two leaders and negotiating teams have been discussing ?discreetly?

A ?United Cyprus Federation? has been on the agenda of resumed negotiations with the Greek side of the divided island, Turkish Cypriot President Mustafa Ak?nc? has said.