Turkey offered to open ports for Cyprus

Turkey offered to bow to EU demands and open its ports, airports and airspace to Greek Cyprus under what it called a “Taiwanese-style” diplomatic arrangement to help drive Cyprus reunification talks resuming on Monday under UN pressure for a breakthrough.

The European Union, which Ankara seeks to join, demands Turkey end an embargo on Greek Cypriot traffic that damages Nicosia’s economy. Turkey for its part says the EU should ease isolation of Turkish Cyprus, something Greek Cypriots reject as implicit recognition of a the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC), currently recognized only by Ankara.

Turkish EU minister Egemen Bağış said that he believes a simple arrangement could help free up talks over the east Mediterranean island.

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