Turkey pushes UN to set timeline for Cyprus talks

Talk of a timeline for Cypriot reunification from the United Nations’ secretary-general would represent an important success in the peace process, according to a Turkish diplomat. Mentioning – even indirectly – a timeline for the completion of the talks by [U.N. Secretary-General] Mr. Ban Ki-moon in his to-be-released Goodwill Mission Report on Cyprus would be important progress,” a Turkish diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity told a group of visiting Turkish journalists in New York late Tuesday.

“That would oblige the parties to show their political will for the solution process.”

The nearly four-decades-old conflict has witnessed many inter-communal negotiations to end the problem, but Greek Cypriots overwhelmingly rejected the Annan Plan, the last major peace proposal, during a 2004 referendum even though Turkish Cypriots supported the motion.

Ongoing negotiations were restarted in 2008, but it is unclear when the talks will conclude, given their open-ended status.