In 2010 Greek and Turkish parts of Cyprus will accelerate the negotiation process aimed at reaching accord and putting an end to 35-year confrontation.

“The Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders are intensifying their United Nations-backed talks aimed at reunifying the Mediterranean island, scheduling two three-day series of discussions next month after a senior UN official said they had made good progress over the past year,” the UN website reads.

Both leaders Dimitris Christofias and Mehmet Ali Talat met under UN auspices in Nicosia. The officials announced their intensions in the joint statement voiced by the Coordinator of the UN’s Good Offices Mission, Yasser Sabra.

A.G.