Turkish invasion of Cyprus

Cyprus formally apologized to Greece on Tuesday as it handed over the remains of 16 Greek commandos who were killed by "friendly fire" during Turkey's 1974 invasion of the island.

The Turkish and Greek Cypriot leaders were to come together on Sept. 26 with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the U.N.

When they started at a Beirut hotel back in 1968, neither Greek Cypriot negotiator Glafkos Clerides nor Turkish Cypriot counterpart Rauf Denktaş probably thought the problem of power sharing between their two peoples would outlive them.

"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.

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.

Some 1,061 missing people have been unearthed in the past 10 years in Cyprus, while around 700 of the bodies have been identified and handed over to their families, according to a Turkish Cypriot member of the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP) in Cyprus. 

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has commended the two heads of the island of Cyprus for their "efforts and leadership" in peace talks on the divided island, adding that significant progress had been made in the negotiations. 

It is a fact that many people, including this writer, have been attacking Turkish Cypriot President Mustafa Ak?nc? for speaking with a more pro-Greek tone than what ought to be a pro-Turkish Cypriot rights focus. In his own words, Ak?nc?

UN Special Adviser for Cyprus Espen Barth Eide is currently in Athens to meet with Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias. Their meeting is scheduled for 15:00pm at the foreign ministry.

The two officials will mainly discuss the latest developments in the Greek-Cypriot and the Turkish-Cypriot negotiations over the solution of the Cyprus issue.

Fresh water has not been pumped through a new pipeline to households in Turkish Cyprus, amid a continuing dispute between Turkey and Turkish Cyprus over who will run the water affairs of the newly-built pipeline, Turkish Cypriot sources told daily Hürriyet.