Turkish Cypriots

Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Ak?nc? lashed out at European Union Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis for his plans to pay a courtesy visit of just 15 minutes when he comes to the island in the coming days.

Speaking at a local SME summit on March 2, Ak?nc? said they would not prefer a visit from Dombrovskis at all if it is only going to be a courtesy visit of 15 minutes. 

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has condemned an arson attack on a mosque located in Greek Cyprus, while the top Christian and Muslim leaders of Cyprus have said the attack had sowed discord and undermined peace on the island.

The historic Denya Mosque in Greek Cyprus has been attacked by arsonists and completely destroyed, while the two leaders on the divided island have condemned the attack.

Unknown assailants staged an arson attack on an historic mosque located in the Denya area inside the territories of the Greek Cypriot administration. 

As fresh water comes closer to Turkish Cyprus from the southern Turkish province of Mersin through the Northern Cyprus Water Supply project, a crisis which had erupted over which authority would manage the pipeline has still not been resolved. 

The details of discussions U.S. Vice President Joe Biden had during his Jan. 23 visit to Turkey with President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an and other top Turkish executives, as well as his talks with the Israeli and Greek Cypriot leaders, keep emerging.

"It is said that the stars are allied for finding a solution on the island. But I really don't think it is these stars that are saying 'let's reach a solution.' The Turkish Cypriots have interests and plans.

Turkish Cyprus Parliament Speaker Sibel Siber has said that as a nation, Turkish Cypriots were backing peace and a resolution to the more than 40-year-old dispute on the divided island, where a peaceful solution is currently being sought with U.N.-brokered talks. 

A planned meeting part of the U.N.-brokered peace talks to find a solution to the Cyprus issue has been postponed due to illness of the Turkish Cypriot leader. 

The meeting, scheduled to take place in Nicosia on Feb. 8, was postponed to a later date due to Turkish Cypriot President Mustafa Ak?nc?'s illness caused by bronchitis, according to state-run Anadolu Agency. 

Turkish Cypriot presidency has expressed its wish that the elections scheduled for May to elect Greek Cypriot administration will not harm the ongoing peace talks between the two sides. 

The four-page document that Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Anastasiades gave to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during a meeting at Davos on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum underlined once again how delusional it might be to expect a quick Cyprus fix.